Harry Potter and The Tomb of Hogwarts
by Deispring
Summary: Hogwarts seems to be the only place in Europe not under attack by Death Eaters, and it may be next. Lines have been drawn, sides are being chosen, and the entire wizarding world is being engulfed in a civil war. And caught in the middle, Harry Potter begi
1. Chapter 1 Grief and Solitude

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 1**

**Grief and Solitude**

The weather in Surry is always nice and sunny during the summer. So when it started raining in the second week of July, it was understandable that many of the residents on Privet Drive were unhappy. Some much more than others.

Vernon Dursley arrived home at number four, Privet Drive nearly two hours late from work. From the moment he walked into the house, he began to fuss about how bad the traffic was.

His wife, Petunia, was no happier. She loved this time of year, as she was able to work in her garden and, what was more important, she could eavesdrop for any gossip.

Their son Dudley was just a little less unhappy, as he did have his video games to play with. But the weather had stopped him from going out with his friends to smoke and harass any kids having the misfortune to walk across his path.

There was, however, one young man at number four, Privet Drive who could not have cared less about the weather. Harry Potter lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, and smiled for the first time in days. He was listening to the raindrops tapping on the roof and couldn't help but let a small grin cross his face. He thought about how his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin would be so unhappy. If he was going to be miserable, at least they were too.

He had been depressed ever since he left the King's Cross Station. His friends from school had seen him off, and now he was stuck with the Dursleys for the next two months.

Harry Potter was a tall lanky young man, though puberty had finally begun to assert itself over the past year. He began to notice a real change in his voice, his muscles were more tone and shapely, and he'd grown more than half a foot, something that had eluded him in past years. It was only when he got back home and got into bed that he'd realized just how much he had grown. He also noticed that his hair had grown a bit longer too, and he rather liked it. He had even considered growing it into a ponytail.

Harry had spent only one day home before he was ready to go back to Hogwarts. His only reprieve was the prospect of going to The Burrow where the Weasleys' live. Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, had promised Harry that he'd do whatever it took to rescue Harry as soon as possible.

Hermione Granger, his other best friend at Hogwarts, went on a trip with her parents to the United States, so going to her place was out of the question. Hermione was always going on some trip during the holidays.

So, while Ron was still at home with his family and Hermione was off in the United States, Harry's was stuck spending at least part of the summer at the home of the Dursleys.

Harry wasn't the only one unhappy about him having to stay at Privet Drive. His Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Cousin Dudley were never happy about having Harry stay with them. But they had agreed to take Harry in after he was orphaned as a baby, and now they were stuck with him.

Since arriving back at Privet Drive, Harry had been spending most of his time in his room. He only came out of his room to use the bathroom or to get something to eat. After what had happened the past year at school, he didn't feel particularly social, especially with the Dursleys. This was fine with them as it meant they had fewer reminders that Harry was there.

There had been some improvements to his daily life back home. Before Harry left King's Cross, several members of the Order of the Phoenix had spoken to the Dursleys. They told Uncle Vernon specifically that they expected a positive report from Harry every few days, and if he seemed unhappy, they would drop by for a visit. Since then, the Dursleys had felt it best to simply ignore Harry whenever possible.

In previous years, if Harry had so much as mentioned magic, the entire family would flinch, Uncle Vernon would yell at Harry before sending him to his room. Now, they just ignored him completely.

When Harry got home, Uncle Vernon had a very quick talk with Harry.

"Listen here boy," he started. "I want to make sure we are clear on the rules this summer."

Harry just stared at the ground. He wasn't much in the mood for a lecture.

"Are you listening to me boy?" Vernon asked.

Harry just nodded.

"I want things to be clear. I don't want you getting in our way. The only time I want to see you when it's time to eat. I expect you home no later than seven each night, and after dinner, you'll be spending the rest of the evening in your room. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied somberly.

"You obey the rules and tell your friends that we are treating you well and…" Uncle Vernon seemed disgusted with himself, and his voice seemed to give out, but he continued on. "And you can read those ruddy books of yours inside your room."

"You can let that stupid bird of your out each night, but I don't want to see any owls near my house during the day. And I don't want you bringing any of those things out of your room. Break any of the rules and I'll boot you out of this house before you can blink an eye."

His voice had risen so that Harry was sure the entire block had heard him. After a moment, he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Are we clear, boy?" he finally asked.

"Yes sir," Harry replied. "I don't say or do anything outside of my room."

"Very good. Now go to your room. I don't expect dinner will be ready for at least an hour. I better not see or hear from you before then. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry repeated. He had gone up to his room that night, crawled into bed, and had not come out of his room except to eat or use the bathroom.

None of the Dursleys had tried get into Harry's room. When it was time to eat, Aunt Petunia would just knock on the door and tell him to come down to eat. This was usually the most he spoke to the Dursleys during the day. He would just stay in his room, read his schoolbooks or do homework, and he was finally able to get the Daily Prophet delivered to him without worrying about getting caught.

So Harry lay on his bed reading the front page of the Daily Prophet. Harry needn't bother reading the entire paper. Instead, he just quickly looked over the front page to see if there would be any news of Voldemort. Today there was another big article talking about Voldemort and, to Harry's dismay, he was mentioned.

Silent Roar of You-Know-Who

By Skeeter Steelhead

"He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has not been seen or heard from in over a week since the fight with Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and the young Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. There have been, however, two more sightings of Death Eaters in lower London. Yesterday, several Muggles reported seeing two figures in robes and hoods waving sticks and making other muggles floating in mid-air. A prominent Wizarding family also reported seeing a pair of Death Eaters levitating a group of Muggles down an alley just two blocks east of The Leaky Cauldron. Several other reported sightings of the Dark Mark have been made throughout Europe. Thus far, authorities have refused to comment of the escalading signs of Death Eater activities.

Harry could not read any more. It had been the same story every day now and he was getting tired of it. He had learned he was a wizard 5 years ago and began going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was his first taste of fame, and it did not agree with him. But by the end of his first year, things had calmed down and he was able to get along with nothing more than the random stare from the passing Witch or Wizard.

Then, two years ago, the Daily Prophet began to write about Harry, and as time went on, stories about Harry seemed to get increasingly worse, to the point where the Prophet began attacking him every chance they got. Of course, much of this was due to pressure from the Ministry of Magic. Harry had been telling everyone that Voldemort had returned, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had made a big show of telling everyone that Voldemort had not returned and that Harry was making up stories to get attention. Of course, all Harry wanted was to be left alone, but that was not going to happen.

But now that was all over. Everything had changed since Harry had gone to the Ministry of Magic two weeks ago. Lord Voldemort had sent his Death Eaters to set a trap for Harry. He'd fallen for it, and when everything had settled, several Death Eaters were arrested and sent to Azkaban and Fudge had personally seen Voldemort and Dumbledore fighting inside the Ministry. Since then, the Prophet had been writing all about Dumbledore, Voldemort, and of course, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

What bothered Harry most was all the publicity the Prophet was giving him, making him out as some kind of hero for telling the world that Voldemort was back. Harry felt nothing like a hero. How could he be a hero when he was responsible for his godfather's death?

Every one of Harry's friends had told him not to blame himself. They kept telling him that Sirius's death wasn't his fault. Nonetheless, Harry could not help punishing himself. He felt so stupid for falling for that trap.

Harry did not accept Sirius's death at first. It was only after Professor Dumbledore told Harry that Sirius was in fact dead that Harry began to accept that he would never see his godfather again. Even still, it was difficult to accept. Twice before leaving Hogwarts Harry had tried to find any way to contact Sirius, but to no avail.

Now that he was back at Privet Drive, it was becoming painfully clear that he would never see Sirius again. So it really felt right that even in the middle of summer it should be raining, as it was today. It fit Harry's mood, and it was comforting in some odd way to know that other people out there today would be as miserable as he was.

Harry had been back from school for four days now and the Dursleys were already beginning to become annoying. He had always wished that they would just let him be, but it was uncomfortable to be completely ignored. Between that and thinking about all the people he had lost; Sirius, his Mum and Dad, and even Cedric Diggory, another Hogwarts student Harry had seen killed just over a year ago; rest and relaxation was not something he was getting much of.

The only thing he had to look forward to was the letters he received from Ron and Hermione. They had each sent a couple of letters, each one telling Harry what they were up to. He replied to both of them, saying that things were going well, and that he was looking forward to seeing them later in the summer.

He had just begun to think about what he and Ron would do at the Burrow when there came a small tapping at the window. Harry sat up and looked over at the ledge.

There stood a large black owl. Harry opened the window and let the owl inside. Immediately the owl hopped inside and shuddered its feathers, spraying a blast of water all over Harry, who quickly ran to his closet and grabbed a clean towel. He quickly dried himself off and then ran to dry the owl as well.

As soon as it was dry he removed the small parcel tied to its leg and led it over to Hedwig's cage to give it some food and water while he read. Harry hoped that Hedwig would not get mad at him for letting a strange owl use her cage to eat and drink. Hedwig was always very protective of her cage and was always jealous whenever Harry had used other owls in the past. Luckily, Hedwig was on her way to the Burrow to give Ron Harry's latest letter and would not be back for at least a day or two, so her cage was empty right now

As the black owl began to eat, Harry opened the note and read.

Dear Harry.

If you are reading this, then I am sorry to say that I have died. It pains me to think that I may not have had the chance to watch you grow up to be the man I know you are destined to become. There were so many things I had hoped to do with you, and I only hope that I was able to accomplish some of them before my death.

I want you to know that no matter what happens, I have always loved you as though you were my own son. I know that they were still alive, your parents would have been proud of the young man you have become, as I know I am. I have faith that you will make it through whatever comes your way, as you have already proven yourself against the odds. You have survived things that would have been the end of lesser men, and I couldn't be more proud. Never change and I expect you will become a wizard that legends are made of.

In case of my untimely demise, I have taken certain liberties in case something happens to me before you come of age. Very soon, you will be hearing from professor Dumbledore, and he will be taking you to my home. There he will go over my last will, and I can only hope that it is enough to help out.

Please remember that I will always love you, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Take care Harry, and I wish you all the luck in the world.

Forever with you,

Sirius.

Harry read the letter three times, his face covered in tears. He had deeply cared for Sirius. He was the closest Harry had had to a real father figure. Of course, there was always Albus Dumbledore, but Dumbledore had his limits since he was Headmaster of Hogwarts. This meant that he had always had to keep his distance from Harry so that he did not seem to favor him over any of the other students. This, along with always seeming to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, usually meant that Dumbledore could not be there for Harry most of the time, and Harry understood.

Sirius, on the other hand, was more willing to break the rules, and was therefore easier to talk to than most other adults. Harry had truly begun to love his godfather.

Harry had not felt as bad about the death of his godfather as he did just then. The tears were flowing freely and Harry had no intention to wipe them from his face. For the first time, all he wanted to do was cry.

He cried for what seemed like an hour. It was only when he became too tired to cry that he heard a second owl knocking at his window. He shook his head, wiped the tears from his eyes, put down the letter, and opened the window again.

The second owl simply dropped a letter from his mouth, turned, and flew back out the window again. Harry closed the window and opened the letter quickly. It was even shorter than the first.

Dear Harry

I will be coming to your house at nine o'clock A.M. on July 12th, and will be picking you up to bring you to your godfather's house in accordance with his wishes. I know you have many questions Harry, but please wait until tomorrow to ask. Everything will be explained to you then. I will see you soon.

Yours Most Truly,

Albus Dumbledore.

He was shocked. He read the letter again. July the twelfth. That was tomorrow. He had hoped to get out of the Dursley house before the end of the summer holiday, but he had never imagined he might leave before the end of his first week back. Moreover, Dumbledore himself was coming to pick him up. This was incredible news.

Harry went to bed that night feeling better than he had in weeks. In less than twenty-four hours, he would be at Sirius' home, and maybe be able to see some of the members of the Order there.

====

The dream was always the same.

Voldemort's Death Eaters had lured him to the Department of Mysteries. He, Hermione and Ron, along with three other Hogwarts students, had all gone there in an attempt to save Sirius from the Death Eaters, only to find that it had been a trap.

The Death Eaters had chased them throughout the Department of Mysteries, eventually trapping them inside an amphitheater like room surrounding a large, stone archway draped with a large veil in the center of the room.

When all looked lost, several members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived, including Sirius Black. A fight broke out and curses were sent everywhere. It seemed that the Death Eaters were winning when Dumbledore arrived, and, in a matter of seconds, the battle was over.

Only Sirius and Bellatrix Lestrange continued dueling.

Harry watched as Bellatrix sent a jet of red light over Sirius's head. Sirius began to laugh, taunting and mocking her, calling out, "Come on, you can do better than that."

Then, suddenly, a second spell had hit him dead center in the chest.

Time seemed to slow to a near halt. Sirius began to fall backwards, just as he had two weeks ago.

His eyes went from amusement to utter shock. His eyes were wide and completely dilated. But that's when things changed.

This time, while still falling in mid-air, Sirius turned his head and looked straight into Harry's eyes.

"Why did you do this to me Harry?" Sirius asked with a sad look on his face. "Why did you have to come here and get into trouble again? Why couldn't you have just listened to Hermione? Why do you always have to play the hero?"

Harry felt the tear of guilt grow in his gut. His eyes began to water, but Sirius continued.

"Dumbledore had told you to continue your Occlumency lessons? If you had worked harder on them, you wouldn't have fallen for their trap, and I would still be alive. How could you have fallen for such an obvious trap? And you think you can be an Auror? There must have been some kind of mistake. The prophecy should have been about Neville. I bet he would have gotten it right."

An overwhelming laughter began to fill the room. It was a high-pitched laughter that Harry had heard before. The high-pitched laughter of Lord Voldemort.

Harry turned to look at Lestrange. Only, Lestrange wasn't there. Instead, there stood a tall thin man with thin slits for eyes, a flat nose, and a look of absolute pleasure on his face. Then Harry saw two bodies lying at his feet. James and Lily Potter looked up at Harry with the expression of combined sadness and betrayal.

"This is all your doing," Voldemort laughed. "First your father dies to save your life, then your mother, and now your godfather. How many more lives will you give me before you finally realize, you cannot beat me. Nothing you can do will stop me. How many more will suffer and die before you give up?"

Hermione walked through the door at the top of the steps.

Again there was a sudden flash of green light, and Hermione fell over, dead.

Ron walked in behind her, and a second later, he was dead too.

Then the twins. Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley. Percy. Lupin. Hagrid. Dumbledore.

Harry woke with a scream. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as though trying to get out.

He sat up and caught his breath. Slowly his heart rate began to slow to a normal pace. He was sweating profusely.

After a few minutes, Harry got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and cleaned himself up.

When he got back to bed, he lay there for more than an hour before finally slipping off back to sleep. The rest of his night went undisturbed.

====

Harry woke up the next morning at five thirty AM. He did not feel very well rested, but the moment he remembered that Dumbledore was coming to pick him up that day, he could not get back to sleep. By six thirty, Harry had taken a shower, changed, and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast.

When he walked through the kitchen door he was immediately hit with the smell of brewed coffee. He knew this meant that Aunt Petunia was getting everything ready for Uncle Vernon, but that was fine with Harry, because he still had to tell them that he would be going with Dumbledore to Sirius' house.

He fixed himself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. He made sure not to get into Aunt Petunia's way, as she would be home when Dumbledore arrived. While waiting for Vernon to come downstairs, Harry went out and got the newspaper, hoping that if Uncle Vernon had his paper first thing in the morning, he would be in a better mood.

Half an hour passed before Vernon came down for breakfast. Harry waited until he had his cup of coffee and cantaloupe half. He offered his Uncle the paper. Vernon's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What do you want boy?" Vernon asked.

"Well sir," Harry began, "The Headmaster from my school would like to come by today to pick me up and take me to my godfather's house."

"Dumbledore is coming here?" cried Petunia. She drew her hands to her mouth the moment she said it.

Harry looked at her amazed for a moment, but recovered quickly. Vernon, on the other hand, was speechless. After half a minute he finally spoke.

He whipped around on Harry and spoke in the soft controlled voice that was meant to intimidate people. Of course, Harry had looked Voldemort in the eyes, so his Uncle was no challenge. However, Harry did not want his Uncle to know that just now, so he cowered a few inches back as his Uncle spoke.

"What do you mean; your Headmaster is coming here? I told you before boy, I don't want your kind in my house. The last time you had one of your people here I had to spend the next two days cleaning up after them."

"I'm sorry about Mr. Weasley, but he didn't realize that you would have the fireplace boarded up. He is not used to mug… err, normal ways of doing things. I am sure that Professor Dumbledore will use the front door."

Harry knew that when a Muggle-born witch or wizard got their letter about going to Hogwarts, it was usually Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore that informed the new wizard or witch and their families about Hogwarts, magic, and how to proceed with life from then on. This meant that Dumbledore had to be pretty familiar with Muggle ways. This got Harry wondering how Dumbledore would look when he came to approach those future Hogwarts students.

Harry shook himself out of it. "I'm sorry. What did you say Aunt Petunia?" he asked.

"I asked you why Dumbledore is coming to our house," Petunia replied.

Harry noticed that his Aunt and Uncle both flinched at the name of his Headmaster the same way most people in the wizarding world did when they heard the name of Lord Voldemort.

"I think he is going to take me to Sirius' house. I'm not sure exactly why, but I got the letters last night and all it said was that he was going to be here at nine this morning.

"NINE THIS MORNING?" shouted Vernon. "You expect us to just welcome a stranger into our house with only two hours notice?"

"Aunt Petunia knows him. At least I think she does, don't you Aunt Petunia?"

Both Harry and Vernon looked over at Petunia. It was written in her face. Wide-eyed and pale white, it was immediately obvious that she did in fact know Dumbledore, but Harry was not sure how he even knew this. Then he realized that she spoke his name just a few moments before.

"Is this true Petunia? Do you know this, this Professor Dimpledoor?"

"It's Dumbledore, and yes, I know him." Her face contorted, sneering as she continued. "I met him when dear old Lily got recruited to that, that school of hers." She looked as though she was going to spew.

Vernon was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Well I still don't want him near this house! I have had enough of your freakish friends coming to my house and I will not have it…"

"VERNON!"

He shot a startled and angry look at Petunia. Harry had never seen him give her that angry of a look before. Harry was used to getting that look himself, but he could never remember his Uncle getting this mad at Aunt Petunia before.

"Yes Petunia?" Vernon asked in that calm angry voice.

Petunia blushed, but stood firm. "Dumbledore is supposed to be the most powerful of their kind in the world. He's the one who sent that nasty letter last year. I don't think it would be smart to make him mad." She paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued. "Besides, if he's coming to pick him up" gesturing to Harry as if he were a piece of furniture "then it just means there is less of a chance for him to mess things up again this summer. I say the more often he's gone the better."

Vernon seemed torn by this new information. On the one hand, it seemed to be something the boy wanted, and it also seemed to involve information that Petunia had hidden from him for the better part of the past twenty years. On the other hand, she did have a point. Having even one more day without Harry was that much better.

After what seemed like ten minutes, although Harry was sure it was less than one, Vernon finally spoke again. It was again in a soft and controlled voice.

"Fine. If he wants to come and take you away, so be it. But he had better come the normal way, and I don't want him sticking around. He can just pick you up and be gone with the both of you. You can tell Petunia when you'll be coming back. Now if you will excuse me, I have a job to get to."

And with that, he stood up and walked out of the kitchen without as much as a goodbye. A few moments later Harry heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of the car starting up and pulling out of the driveway.

Harry turned to look at his Aunt. She was staring at the kitchen door as if it were something she had never seen before.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry called. "Aunt Petunia?" he called again.

Finally, she turned and looked at Harry, still the look of utter confusion on her face. Something changed, because suddenly her face had turned back to its normal scrunched up and angry look, as if a happy charm had been abruptly broken. When she next spoke, it was in her normal, disdainful voice.

"Well, what are you waiting for boy? Go pack your things. If you're leaving at nine, I want you prepared to leave by no later than eight thirty."

Any sign of concerned, docile woman from before was defiantly gone. When she continued, there was no sign of fear or courtesy. "What are you looking at boy? Get packing," she said angrily.

"But I don't know how much to pack," Harry said, submissively. The last thing he wanted to do was get aggressive with her. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how long I'll be gone for."

"You don't you know how long you will be gone for?" she cried. "Of course you don't. Why would you? Don't know anything unless it's spelled out for you, do you boy? Well, I expect you should be gone for at least three days if you are going to be picked up by the Headmaster of your school. So, get going. Start packing."

Harry turned and walked out of the kitchen as fast as he could. As odd as things had just been, all Harry could think of was the fact that in less than two hours, Dumbledore would be here, and Harry would be on his way out of here.

He ran upstairs as quickly as possible, and nearly knocked Dudley off his feet as he ran to his room. Once inside, he grabbed an old knapsack that he inherited from Dudley when he got a new one for his birthday. He packed three days worth of supplies into the knapsack, and put everything else that would fit into his trunk. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he could not ignore the fact that he might just be able to leave for the rest of the summer, and he didn't want to pass up the chance just because he was not ready.

Lastly, Harry went to grab his broom and put it next to his trunk. He looked over at his clock. He still had over an hour until Dumbledore would show up.

The next hour dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Harry tried to spend the time using the broom kit Hermione gave him for his thirteenth birthday. He made sure to put the Westler all-purpose broom wax evenly over the entire broom handle. Then he straightened the bristles with some bristle mist and a broom brush, careful to keep them straight and together. He put the final touches on the bristles by binding them together with his Bristlebands to keep them in place.

He looked at the clock. It was only eight seventeen. Still another forty-three minutes left. Time just did not seem to want to move for him. He finally gave in, opened his History of Magic book, and began to read. The paragraphs seemed to merge into one continuous line of incoherent babble. Nothing made sense.

It was eight twenty four. He traded his History of Magic for Transfiguration. Again, nothing caught his eye.

Eight thirty one. He traded Transfiguration for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He looked over his notes from last year. He remembered the DA meetings he ran in the room of requirement. The meetings became necessary after Professor Umbridge, the new Defense teacher, had refused to teach them anything practical.

For the better part of the school year, Harry lead the DA, or Dumbledore's Army, in learning the more practical applications of magic for defense against Dark Magic. He remembered how far Neville Longbottom had come during the year. Neville was always a bit clumsy when it came to magic and it was a near guarantee that if Neville was casting the spell, something would go wrong. But after an incident during Christmas, Neville turned over a new leaf and worked as hard as anyone could imagine. In only two months he had gone from being one of the poorest in the class to being one of the best. When it came time to work on the shield charm, a spell to deflect minor jinxes, only Hermione learned it faster than him. He had come so far.

Many others had come far too, including the Weasley twins, Dean Thomas, Katie Bell, Lavender Brown, the Creevey brothers, even Justin Flinch Fletchley. There were more than twenty in all, and they all made incredible progress, and Harry could not have felt more proud. But all that was lost when Marietta Edgecombe went to Professor Umbridge and told her about the DA. Overall, it could have ended worse. Still, Harry was furious with her for it, and he was still a bit bitter about it all these months later.

Then there was Cho Chang. It was Cho that brought Marietta to the DA meetings in the first place. Harry had liked Cho since his first year, and was even going to ask her to the Yule Ball during fourth year. Unfortunately, Cedric Diggory had asked her out before Harry, and then Cedric had died, and everything fell apart. Then, last year, they had finally gone out on a Hogsmeade weekend. That ended up being a very short date, and things didn't get any better throughout the year.

It seemed that ever since Cedric asked her out, Harry always seemed to end up with more bad memories with Cho than good. Marietta was just the last straw. The funny thing was, on the train ride home from Hogwarts Harry had seen Cho and, for the first time in nearly two years, he actually felt comfortable around her. He guessed it was because he no longer had feelings for her. She was going out with someone else, and Harry was sure that next year he would start looking at other girls at school for dates.

Harry was just beginning to go through a mental list of girls at Hogwarts that he would be interested in when he heard the doorbell. His head swung instinctively to his clock. It was nine o'clock on the dot.

Dumbledore was here. Harry ran out of his bedroom door, down the hall, and took the steps two at a time. He was four steps from the bottom when he saw who was at the front door. He stopped. It wasn't Dumbledore. Harry had never seen him before, but he was definitely a Muggle, and therefore not Professor Dumbledore. Harry climbed down the rest of the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

"Harry," called Petunia, "your Professor is here."

Harry's head whipped around. He walked quickly over to Petunia and the stranger. He took a quick glance outside, expecting to see Dumbledore somewhere outside. When he was not there, he looked up at his Aunt with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"What are you getting at boy?," she snapped at him. "He's right there in front of you."

Harry took another look at the stranger in front of him who was smiling broadly down at Harry. He was sure he had never met this man before in his life, and yet, there was something familiar about him. The man was at least six feet tall and did have a similar build to Dumbledore, but he didn't have the beard, his hair was short and dark brown, his nose was shorter at a bit fatter, and his eyes were brown, not blue. But there was an unmistakable sparkle in his eyes that shown as bright as the night stars.

"Professor?" said Harry in a soft and confused voice. The man's smile broadened a bit more.

"Hello Harry," came a low soft voice. Harry knew that voice at once. He looked up into the unfamiliar face of his Headmaster.

"May I impose upon you to come in for a moment, Mrs. Dursley?" Dumbledore asked.

"Please," Petunia replied in her coldest voice. Harry could tell that his Aunt wanted nothing more than to tell him no, but her fear of wizards kept her in check for the moment.

As soon as Dumbledore was all the way in the house, Harry took a better look at his Headmaster. Aside from the change in appearance in his face, he had also mastered Muggle clothes even better than Harry could have ever imagined. He was wearing light tan slacks, a white pinstripe shirt under a maroon sweater vest, and a beige overcoat, which lay over his left arm. He could have easily passed for a Muggle businessman.

Harry led him into the family room and offered him a seat in Uncle Vernon's chair. He smiled and took a seat.

"Absolutely amazing. Theses Muggle inventions just amaze me more and more. This must be the most comfortable chair I have ever had the pleasure of sitting in. I must look into getting one of these for my office. But alas, I did not come here to discuss Muggle furniture. I dare say we have more important matters at hand. However, I do not think this is the wisest of places to discuss this. I do apologize if I did not give you enough information in my letter, but there were reasons, which you will find out soon enough. Now, if you are ready?"

"Actually sir, I do have a question before we leave, if I may," Harry said.

"By all means," he replied.

"Well sir, I was just wondering how long I will be gone for. I didn't know if I needed to pack, or how much to pack, or anything."

"Oh my, I did forget to mention that, didn't I? Well, I think one day's supplies will do for now, but you may not want to unpack everything when you get back. But again, I am getting ahead of myself. If you don't mind, I would like a quick word with your Aunt while you go get your things," Dumbledore said with another broad smile.

"Of course sir," said Harry. He then turned towards the kitchen and called "Aunt Petunia?"

Her head curved around the wall separating the kitchen from the dinning room and family room. Her eyes narrowed.

"Yes? Are you ready to go?" she asked with a tone of impatience.

"We will be on our way in a moment. The professor said we'll only be gone for the night and will be back some time tomorrow. He also wants a word with you while I get my things," He said this last remark with a softer, more careful tone than he usually used with her, hoping she would not embarrass him in front of Dumbledore.

She stepped out from the kitchen, but did not make any movement towards the family room. She looked almost like she was waiting for an opportunity to run away were the need to arise.

"Yes?" she asked, in a very cautious tone.

As Dumbledore stood to speak with Harry's Aunt, he took the opportunity to run upstairs and grab his knapsack. He went over to the window and unlocked it, looking at the clouds overhead. The weather had cleared up a bit and it was supposed to clear up more over the next few days. He left it cracked an inch or so, in case Hedwig came back that night.

He turned and headed back downstairs as fast as possible. He walked into the family room and stopped dead in his tracks.

Aunt Petunia was smiling, sitting on the couch, and actually having a conversation with Professor Dumbledore. Harry stood there in complete awe. After a few moments, Dumbledore seemed to take notice that Harry had come back into the room and stood up.

"My dear Petunia, it has been a pleasure. And the next time you go to London, I highly suggest you enjoy a cup of tea at the Prinns Café. You will not find a better cup of English Tea in all of Europe. Now, Harry, if you're ready?" he asked, turning to Harry as he began putting on his coat. All Harry could do was nod his head. He looked past Dumbledore to where Petunia stood, still drinking a cup of tea, and though the smile had faded from her face, she did not seem to have the standard growl that covered her face most of the time.

Dumbledore strode over to Harry and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, escorting him to the front door.

"Thank you again for your hospitality, and I will be sure to have Harry back here promptly at six PM tomorrow night. Until next time, I thank you again for all your help, and again for taking young Harry in. And please say hello from me to Vernon." He turned to Harry and whispered in a firm voice, "Don't you want to say goodbye to your Aunt?"

Harry looked over at his Aunt, still confused by the past few moments. "Goodbye," was all he mustered.

He turned and headed out the front door, Dumbledore following closely behind him.

When the door behind them closed, Dumbledore began down the walkway to the street, and Harry followed.

"Excuse me sir, but where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"Why, to Sirius's house, of course. Did you not receive my letter?" He asked in a pleasant, upbeat voice.

"Um, yes sir. But how are we getting there?" asked Harry.

"We will be heading over to Arabella Figg's house. She is expecting us."

Harry shook his head back and forth. He should have thought of that. He just wasn't thinking as well as he should. He'd been spending so much time feeling sorry for himself, he'd stopped thinking about anything else. He shook his head again, trying to snap himself out if it and start concentrating on what he was doing.

He looked up just in time to avoid walking straight into a sign post.

They continued down the street towards Mrs. Figg's house and got to her front door just a few minutes later.

She opened the front door quickly and ushered them in.

"Come in, come in. Please, have a seat in my living room. I will grab you a cup of tea. It's just freezing out there. Weather's not supposed to heat up until tomorrow at the earliest."

"Thank you Arabella, but I believe that I have delayed young Harry here for much too long as it is. If you don't mind, I would rather like to go over to Grimmauld Place as quickly as possible. You, of course, are welcome to come. I dare say Harry will be wanting as much company as possible, and since the Weasley family will not be coming out until Monday, I believe you will be most welcome when the time comes."

Harry began to feel his face flush. They were talking about him as though he was not there, and they obviously knew something he did not. He was very tired of everyone knowing what was best for him when he didn't know what was going on. And here they were, doing it again.

"Excuse me," he called, a bit louder than he expected. "Why will I want other people around, and why is the whole Weasley family going to Sirius's house on Monday. Would someone please tell me what is going on?" His voice had increased to a low roar by the time he was done.

"I am sorry Harry. We should not have been talking like that in front of you. But I promise, in less than an hour, you will be brought up to speed on everything we have been discussing here." Again he smiled down at Harry, and he felt his temperature begin to drop back down a couple of degrees, though he was ready to explode again if they started back up.

Dumbledore walked over to the fireplace and waved his wand. A roaring fire burst into flames, crackling as if it had been burning for hours. Dumbledore reached into his coat pocket and pulled out what looked like a combination of sand and ash. He threw it on the fire and the flames turned a bright blue.

"I will be right behind you," said Dumbledore.

Harry nodded to Dumbledore and stepped into the fire. He felt the light tingle that he always felt when he took floo powder anywhere. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said in his calmest voice, "Grimmauld Place."

Everything became a blur. Harry could see the living rooms of dozens of different houses pass quickly before his eyes. He was glad he didn't have to bring his trunk. It bumped into him the last time he had to take his trunk through the floo network, and he was not looking forward to having that experience again.

Finally, the swirling stopped, his feet hit the floor, and he tumbled out of the living room fireplace of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

**{====}**

**Coming Soon**

**Chapter 2  
The ****Reading**** of the will**


	2. Chapter 2 The Reading of the Will

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 2**

**The ****Reading**** of the Will**

Harry dusted himself off and tried to get to his feet. He had never gotten used to travelling by Floo and he was always a bit dizzy afterward. Slowly he got to his feet and looked around. He was in the living room.

Five people were sitting around the coffee table; Professor McGonagall, his Transfiguration teacher and Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress, Remus Lupin, Harry's old Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Nymphadora Tonks, one of the youngest members of the Order, Mad-Eye Moody, another ex-DADA teacher, and Molly Weasley, Ron's mum and a bit of a mother figure to Harry as well. She was the first to get to her feet as Harry stood.

"Harry dear," She said, coming around the table. "How are you?"

Before she gave him a chance to answer, she had already taken him into a hearty hug. She held on for a few moments before finally pulling back, holding him out at arms length, a broad smile covering her face.

The others stood and took turns saying hello. First was Moody, giving him a solid handshake and a quick slap to his shoulder with a bit more enthusiasm than Harry would have liked.

Next, Professor McGonagall said hello with her typical half-smile and handshake. It still surprised him how firm a grip his head of house had. Even Moody's grip felt gentle when compared to the vice like grip of Professor McGonagall.

Tonks quickly approached him to say hello and nearly tripped over the coffee table, steadying herself on McGonagall's shoulder. She recovered quickly, smiled brightly, and said hello with an exorbitant amount of energy. Harry couldn't help but smile back, as it was all he could do not to laugh.

Lupin was last to say hello. He had offered Harry a handshake, but it somehow turned into the longest hug of all. Harry was a bit surprised by this unusual display of affection, but before he had a chance to point this out, Tonks's voice had interrupted his thought.

"Is everything going well at home?" she asked. "Are those Muggles treating you well?"

"Uh, yea, great, everything's fine," he responded lamely. He tried to recover, "How are you?"

"Great! I'm still running about for the Order, under cover work and all," she said, winking at Harry. Harry had remembered that Tonks was a Metamorphmagus and could alter her appearance at will. It was no wonder she was doing undercover work.

"And how is everything at The Burrow?" he asked, turning to Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, everything is just great, dear. Arthur is going to be along in a few minutes, and Ron and Ginny should be along by Monday, so you should be able to see them then."

"Excuse me Molly," came Dumbledore's voice from behind Harry, "but I believe we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves."

"Monday?" Harry asked. "But I thought I was only going to be here for one day."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore with a pleasant smile. "Please, Harry, let us take our seats, and I will explain."

They all went back and took seats in the living room. Harry noticed that he hadn't seen Mrs. Figg since he arrived, but he figured she had probably gone into the kitchen for tea.

It didn't seem like there was going to be enough space for everyone, and sure enough, Dumbledore was left without a place to sit. Harry was about to offer Dumbledore his own seat when Dumbledore pulled out his wand. He gave Harry a wink, smiled, and waved his wand, producing a large chair behind him, and sat down.

"Well, Harry, as I assume you've surmised by now, we are here on behalf of your godfather, Sirius. I, as executor of Sirius's will, have the responsibility of presenting Sirius's final wishes. He had only 3 provisions in his will, which I will read for you now."

Dumbledore pulled out a parchment from his cloak, unrolled it, and began to read.

"I, Sirius Black, being of clear mind, do willingly and voluntarily make known my final wishes as follows." Dumbledore paused briefly and looked up at Harry over his glasses before continuing. "My first wish is that my duties as Godfather be forthwith taken on by my good friend, Remus Lupin."

Dumbledore stopped talking and looked over concernedly at Harry, who was staring blindly back at him, wide-eyed and open mouthed, gaping at him in an obvious look of surprise and confusion.

Slowly, his gaze moved from Dumbledore to Lupin. Lupin was looking back at him with both an uncomfortable and pleading smile. It was the look of a defendant looking at a jury, awaiting a life or death verdict. Harry was unsure of what he should do. It was Lupin who finally broke the silence.

"Harry?" he asked softly. "Are you okay with that? I'll understand completely if there is someone else you would rather..."

"NO!" Harry cried out suddenly, much louder than he had intended. Everyone else seemed to move a few inches from Harry at this outburst. "Of course I'd want you to be my godfather. I just..." Harry's throat seemed to swell. Before he knew it, all of the emotions that had been building up over the past two weeks had finally overwhelmed him and tears began to flow from his eyes. It lasted only a moment before he recovered, wiping the tears from his face.

"Harry," Lupin said in a soothing voice, tears threatening to escape his own eyes.

Both Lupin and Harry stood at the same time, slowly walked towards each other, and paused for a moment before collapsing into each other's arms. They held each other for what seemed like an hour before they finally pulled away from each other, the tears replaced by broad smiles. Regaining their composure, Lupin was first to speak.

"Harry, I just want you to know how flattered I was that Sirius asked me to be your surrogate godfather if anything were to happen to him. I can't hope to replace him, but I'll do my best to be here fore you for whatever you might need."

Harry started to say something, paused, then quickly dove in for a second hug. He couldn't think of any other way of telling Lupin how much he appreciated his being there for him. He'd felt a connection with Lupin ever since he was a teacher at Hogwarts during Harry's third year. He really couldn't think of anyone else he might bond with as well as he had with Sirius.

After a few moments, Harry finally pulled back and looked up at Lupin. He had a huge smile spread wide across his face, and Harry realized that he too was smiling broadly. Finally, he spoke up.

"Professor, I can't think of anyone better for the job," he said with a smile.

"Please, Harry, call me Remus. I'm not your professor anymore, and anyway, if Sirius and James could call me Remus, I don't see any reason why you can't do the same."

"Um,,," he stammered, "okay, Remus," Harry finally stammered out, smiling meekly back up at him. He gave Lupin a quick pat on the shoulder, and sat down, switching places with Mrs. Weasley so that he was between her and Lupin. He looked back up at Dumbledore expectantly and nodded. Dumbledore nodded back, cleared his throat, and continued.

"Second, to my Godson, Harry Potter, I leave all my worldly possessions, including my home at Grimmauld Place, all of my personal belongings, and any money I may possess."

Harry looked at Dumbledore in disbelief. The world began spinning out of control. Had he heard Dumbledore that right? Had Sirius really left him everything he owned? He began to ask, but Dumbledore had begun to speak again.

"Finally, I have requested that one of my possessions stay in Albus's care, along with several letters addressed to my dearest friends which will be given to them after my passing. As to the one gift I left with Dumbledore, I ask only that he keep it in his possession until a time that he sees fit to give it to Harry. I would also ask Harry to please continue to live with the Dursleys during the summer holidays until he completes his seventh year at Hogwarts."

"And finally, on a personal note, I would like to tell Harry how very sorry I am not to be able to see you grow into the strong young man I know you will become. Please remember to live life to its fullest, as did your father. I am sure that Remus will be a good mentor to you, and I wish you all the best. Signed by Sirius Black, Witnessed by Minerva McGonagall, assigned executor Albus Dumbledore."

Dumbledore rolled the parchment back up and handed it to Harry. "This is all yours now, Harry," he said. "Everything inside this house now belongs to you, as well as the house itself. I have also taken it upon myself to have all of Sirius's money transferred into your own vault. And Harry, I would ask that you do fully consider Sirius's request for you to stay with the Dursleys, as that is still the best place for you to call home."

Dumbledore was looking very stern over his spectacles at Harry, making sure he had made his point.

"Yes professor," Harry replied.

"However," Dumbledore said with a smile, "as Molly had mentioned earlier, we do not think it necessary to keep you from your new house. Therefore, I spoke with your Aunt while you were getting your things and she has graciously agreed to allow you to come here during the weekdays."

Graciously agreed? More like she celebrated her good fortune. Harry thought. He couldn't think of anything the Dursleys might like more than the opportunity to get Harry out of the house during the holidays, even if it was for only 5 days as week.

"Ron and Hermione will be joining you here on Monday," Dumbledore continued "and though the Order is no longer meeting here, you can expect to have some members drop by from time to time." Dumbledore smiled as he nodded at Tonks and Moody, who spoke up for the first time since greeting him.

"Indeed," said Moody. "We want to make sure that there are no problems like the ones of last year. Things have been very quiet lately, but we can't drop our guard. Thanks to the events that happened back at the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort's return has been revealed. He has no more reasons to conceal himself. You must be careful, Harry. Constant vigilance!"

Harry heard a noise come from Mrs. Weasley that Harry was sure was a stifled laugh. He had to grin himself. Mad-eye Moody was famous in the wizarding community as being one of the most paranoid wizards in the wizarding world. He was also famous for shouting "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" whenever possible. Harry grinned at Mrs. Weasley.

"There is one more thing I need to cover with you, Harry, and it's the issue of Kreacher. I was last to see Kreacher before going to the Department of Mysteries. Since returning, none of us has seen Kreacher. When Remus went downstairs to check on him, most of his sleeping area was empty and many of the things he had been collecting have gone as well. It is my belief that he has gone to live with Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.

Harry's eyes went wide. A moment later, he burst into a fit of laugher. After a few moments, Lupin spoke up.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Kreacher!" Harry cried, laughing even harder. "He's living with the Malfoys!"

Dumbledore began to grin, but everyone else wore looks of utter bewilderment. It was Tonks who finally said, "I don't get it. Am I the only one who doesn't get it?"

"It's just... Kreacher... and Dobby... Malfoy... the sock." At that, he lost all control and started pounding his fist on the armrest.

Nobody seemed to have an idea on the cause of Harry's laughter, and finally it was Dumbledore who enlightened them.

"I believe I have an explanation as to Harry's amusement. You see, during Harry's second year at Hogwarts, Harry had freed a house-elf named Dobby from the Malfoy family by tricking Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby as sock which Harry had hidden in a Diary. Now, because Harry has taken possession of this house, Kreacher has moved in with Narcissa Malfoy, as she is the closest Black still alive. So as it stands, Dobby has been freed and Kreacher is bound to Malfoys, leaving the Malfoy family worse for the wear in both cases and Harry all the better for it."

Dumbledore's grin had now grown to a full smile, and a moment later, Lupin began to laugh, and a small giggle has escaped from Tonks.

It was a few minutes before Harry had calmed down. He was sure that it hadn't even been that funny and he couldn't quite figure why he had laughed so hard, but it had just seemed so darn funny just then. Now that he felt sobered up, he composed himself and looked around. As he recomposed himself, he noticed that the room had cleared.

Mrs. Weasley and Tonks were talking to each other at the other end of the room, openly mocking him and Lupin. Dumbledore and Moody had walked into the kitchen, and only Professor McGonagall remained. She was sitting upright in her chair, hands folded in her lap, staring straight-faced at Harry. She had given him the same stare a few months ago when she had sworn to aid Harry in becoming an auror.

He moved over to a seat closer to her and waited. After a few moments passed, he spoke up.

"Okay," he said, "What did I do wrong this time?"

"You've done nothing wrong, Harry," she replied. "I simply have a few things that we need to discuss."

"What do you mean? I thought Dumbledore read the entire will."

"He did. However, Professor Dumbledore is a very busy wizard and has some matters he must discuss with the other Order members. But he knows there are still some things you do not know, and you are going to have many questions, so I am here to fill you in."

"But, what else is there?"

"Well, for starters, we have to talk about who is to be the next Secret Keeper for the house. Because of the Secret Keeper charm, Kreacher cannot bring anyone here to the house. However, he is still able to come and go at will and the Malfoys are likely to use that to spy on the goings on in this house."

Harry's face had taken a look of horror, and McGonagall had quickly noticed, as his next words were those of reassurance.

"Of course, we have taken every precaution to safeguard the most important information. For instance, when Dumbledore spoke with Kreacher two weeks ago, we has some specific charms in place to prevent Kreacher from repeating anything said that night. Dumbledore also placed some additional charms on Kreacher to prevent him from repeating anything else he had learned during the past year."

Harry's face relaxed a bit, but it was obvious that something was still bothering him, but McGonagall didn't give him the chance to say what was so upsetting before she spoke up and put his mind at ease.

"However, we still have to prevent Kreacher from being able to come and go freely and the best way to prevent that is to have you to choose a new Secret Keeper for the house."

"But why me?" Harry asked, mystified. "Why would you want me to choose? Surely you'd know of a better candidate for than me."

"But it is not my house to care for. The house now belongs to you, Harry. Only the owner of a house can appoint a Secret Keeper for that house."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Bare in mind, Harry," continued McGonagall, "that you should pick someone who is not likely to be linked to you. I would suggest not choosing a member of the Weasley family as they would be an obvious choice, as would Mrs. Granger. Lupin's being your new godfather would eliminate him, and my being your head of house would eliminate me. Moreover, I wouldn't recommend any of the Hogwarts Professors as a smart choice to begin with. The walls have ears there, as I am sure you are aware."

Harry nodded. "All right, "so who do I choose for Secret Keeper?"

"Well, you should choose someone you know, someone you trust, but not someone who you have a strong relationship with. Try to think of someone you would entrust your life to, but someone whom you have had little personal contact with."

Harry thought for a moment before replying, "Well, what about Moody? He was my Professor in fourth year, but it wasn't really him. It was Crouch, and Voldemort knows it. I've never really gotten too to Moody, and even if I had, Voldemort wouldn't suspect anything because of what happened with Crouch. Plus, most people think he's a bit odd as it is, so nobody would think of him."

A broad smile crossed McGonagall's lips. "That's very good Potter. I'm glad to see that you are taking things seriously. And as for Moody, well, he's not the worst person I could think of. Besides, his training as an auror would ensure that he would keep the secret safe. I am impressed. You might make a fair Auror after all."

"Ok," Harry said smugly, "that was easy. What else have you got?"

"Well," McGonagall continued, ignoring Harry's behaviour, "I understand that Professor Dumbledore told you about the prophecy?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Well, then you understand that what is supposed to happen. If the prophecy holds true, only one you supposed to survive."

Harry nodded. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was the first time he had put any real thought into what Dumbledore had said about the prophecy, and it all came flowing back to him. He had to kill Voldemort, or be killed himself. The thought made him sick to his stomach. Of course, the idea of killing anyone, even Voldemort, seemed like a terrible thing to do. It was surreal. But he didn't have much of a choice. It was already in the prophecy, and even if it weren't, it didn't seem like Voldemort had any purpose in life but to get his body back and to figure out how to kill him. He had already tried to kill him five times.

But this time wasn't going to be like the others. He didn't need to just survive. He was supposed to kill the most powerful wizard alive, with the exception of Dumbledore. And just surviving wouldn't save him. All that would do is make Voldemort wait until a later time to kill him. So he needed to kill Voldemort first. But he couldn't kill anyone, even if it was Voldemort. And did he really have it in him to kill him? Couldn't there be another way to stop him?

And what if he did end up killing him? Would he end up going to Azkaban for it? It would make sense for everyone would be keen on him for killing Voldemort, but the Ministry of Magic didn't exactly have a good track record when it came to logical and justified in it's laws. Three and a half years ago, the Ministry thought that Hagrid might have had something to do with the chamber of secrets being opened. There was no evidence to prove it, but they put Hagrid in Azkaban for three months and would have kept him there forever if Harry hadn't proven that it had been Ginny Weasley, controlled by a diary of Voldemort, who had opened the Chamber of Secrets.

If they could do that to an innocent Hagrid without any proof, what would they do to Harry if he really did kill Voldemort? Before he could stop himself, He'd already asked, "If I kill Voldemort, won't I go to Azkaban?"

The look on McGonagall's face told him that he had caught her completely by surprise.

"My," she started, "I see you have been briefed, haven't you. Well, to answer your question, Dumbledore has made an appointment with the Minister for tomorrow morning where some special arrangements will be made for you. We will be taking care of several problems at that time. That, however, is one thing that Dumbledore would like to speak about with you himself."

He nodded courteously to his headmistress, but something just didn't feel right about all this. They were doing nothing more than plotting Voldemort's death, and they wanted Harry to do it. All he could think about was that there had to be another way to deal with Voldemort without killing him. Harry knew what he would have to do. When Hermione got there on Monday, he would have to ask to her about it.

His thoughts were interrupted just then as McGonagall had just cleared her throat. When he looked back up at her, she straightened her spectacles and pulled out a parchment, checked it over for a moment, and replaced it into her robes before continuing.

"Another thing we need to discuss is the subject of your Occlumency training."

McGonagall looked over her glasses at Harry and he knew immediately that he was in trouble. He had not practiced Occlumency since he was at Hogwarts, or more accurately, since Snape had kicked him out of his office over three months ago.

"I know that Professor Snape is not your favourite Professor, but you will need to put your differences aside for the time being. Those lessons may some day save your life. Now we understand that things between you and Professor Snape have gotten increasingly hostile, and Dumbledore has made plans for a different Professor to instruct you upon your return to Hogwarts. However, until then, Professor Snape will be giving you lessons here twice a week."

"But why does he..." Harry started.

"I don't want to hear it Potter. And I don't want to hear that you are giving him trouble either. I may not be able to take house points from you or give you detention, but don't try my patience." She gave Harry a stern look and he knew she meant what she said.

"So when is Snape coming..." he started.

"Professor Snape," McGonagall corrected.

"Right. When is Professor Snape coming?" Harry asked, saying the word professor as though it were a four-letter word.

"Professor Snape will be arriving on Wednesday for your first lesson. Following that, he will be here for lessons every Tuesday and Friday evening. Remember, Harry, that it is very important that you learn to block your mind from Voldemort. We can't afford for him to invade your mind any more than he has." There was a slight note of panic in her voice as she said this.

"Ok, ok. I understand," Harry said quickly. "I need to do the Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape. I get it. What else?"

"Don't take that tone with me, Potter," said McGonagall in a very stern voice. "You need to learn Occlumency, and not only for yourself, but for those closest to you. I hat to admit it, but for once I agree with Moody. You must be careful. Times are more dangerous than ever and we cannot afford to let our defences down, even at school."

"At Hogwarts? What's happening at Hogwarts?"

"Well, I shouldn't be telling you this Harry, but some of our informants have told us that there are Hogwarts students under observation during the summer holidays. It's possible that some of them may be recruited as Death Eaters before the start of school."

"Malfoy," said Harry, his voice full of disgust. "I'll bet those two goons Crabbe and Goyle are signing up too. Stupid gits. Sorry Professor."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" McGonagall said with another quick smirk. "Never mind. Just remember to always be on the alert and everything should work out just fine.

Harry nodded again. He had the feeling that McGonagall was not telling him everything, but it was obvious that she was not going to say any more about it now, as she was about to change subjects.

"Now, there is something else that Dumbledore has asked me to discuss with you. Being that there are many different types of dangers out there, we want to afford you every advantage possible. It is for that very reason that Professor Dumbledore has requested that I give you Animagus lessons, assuming you're up for it."

Harry's jaw hit the floor. "Excuse me?" he blurted.

"You heard me Potter. Professor Dumbledore has asked me to give you Animagus training. We will not begin until you return to school, but if you want to learn, I would hope to begin by the second week of term. Are you interested?"

"But..." he stuttered. "Of course I'd want to... Is this for real?"

"It is very real. With what's to come, we need to have every advantage we can get. Becoming an Animagus may be that extra advantage that could save your life. Just remember what it did for Peter Pettigrew. Of course, I suggest you think very hard about what form you take. Now I don't expect an answer today, but you should have something in mind by the start of term."

Harry's mind was all over the place. He was going to become an Animagus just like his dad and Sirius. He was so excited about the prospect of Animagus training that he hadn't heard what McGonagall was saying until he heard her mention Hermione and Ron.

"Sorry Professor," he said apologetically, "but what was that last bit?"

"I was saying how Professor Dumbledore will be talking with both Mrs. Granger and Mr. Weasley about the Animagus training. He seems to think that since they tend to get into the same trouble as you, they might as well be suitably prepared. However, he feels it best that he be the one to tell them when they arrive here on Monday, and I agree. But you needn't worry, we'll be keeping you plenty busy until then."

She stood then, brushed and straightened her robes. Then she turned back to Harry and said, "Come, Harry, lunch should be ready soon, and we still have one visitor who wishes to say hello."

Harry stood and followed her into the dining room. He was in a daze and hadn't really noticed that a much larger table had replaced the small table that had been there last year. Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, and Moody were all sitting at the table while Mrs. Weasley was running around the kitchen getting the food together. Mrs. Figg was still nowhere to be seen, so Harry guessed that she had taken the kitchen fireplace back home.

Harry began to pull out a chair to sit when something had grabbed his leg. He knew who it was before he even had to look.

"Harry Potter sir!" cried a high-pitched voice from his leg. He looked down to see Dobby the house-elf hugging his leg and smiling brightly up at him.

"Hello Dobby," Harry said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, Dobby is doing very well, sir. Dobby is on a vacation day. Dobby is coming to help Harry Potter today."

"That's great Dobby. I'm glad you could come." He was a bit surprised, but he truly was happy to see Dobby just then. It was nice to see a friendly face that wouldn't flip his world upside down which gave him and idea.

"Professor Dumbledore, do you think Dobby could come and work here for a while? I could sure use the help around the house."

Dumbledore, mocking a deep thought for a moment, smiled broadly and said, "Why, I don't see why not. Of course, Dobby would have to agree to it, and I think it might be best if he came back to Hogwarts when term begins, but I can't think of any reason why he couldn't be here during the holiday."

"Well, what do you say Dobby?" Harry asked, turning to Dobby. "Would you like to stay here for the holidays?"

"Oh yes, Harry Potter. Dobby would like that very much."

Dobby was bouncing and jumping around, making Dobby's bat-like ears flap so much Harry began to wonder whether Dobby might just fly away.

"That's good Dobby. I'll be happy to have you here."

Dobby wrapped his little arms around Harry's waist and gave him a long hug. Amused, Harry patted Dobby on the back of his head, just between his ears, and Dobby finally broke away, eyes glazing over with tears. Harry smiled down at Dobby and continued patting him lightly on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Harry Potter. Dobby is very pleased to be of service." And with that, Dobby turned around and went on to help Mrs. Weasley make and serve lunch.

After lunch, Dumbledore brought Harry and Moody into the living room again and performed the Secret Keeper charm on Moody. Harry was expecting a quick spell. He was therefore more than a little surprised when it turned out to be more of ritual than a spell.

Dumbledore had asked both Harry and Moody to repeat the name of the home that was to be charmed. So they both repeated "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London" three times in unison. At the same time, Dumbledore was repeating "Secretus Silencencio" while tapping each of them on the forehead with his wand. First Harry, then Moody, three times he tapped them in unison with the chant.

What amazed Harry most about the spell was how drained he felt afterwards. Each time he was tapped with his wand he felt some energy drain out of him. By the third tap, Harry felt as if he had just finished a ten-hour Quidditch practice. When they finished, Dumbledore had taken a large piece of chocolate out of his robe and broken it into two pieces. He gave one to Harry and the other to Moody.

After Dumbledore had placed the Secret Keeper charm on Moody, he prepared to leave. But before leaving, he pulled Harry aside for a quick talk.

"Harry, I don't want you to worry about tomorrow. Everything is going to be just fine. I will explain everything to you tomorrow. Just make sure you get a good nights sleep, and I should be back around nine tomorrow morning."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled, and for the first time since Harry's fourth year, Harry had felt complete confidence in what Dumbledore had said. He smiled up at him and nodded.

"Yes Professor," he said. "I don't think I'll be awake long enough to worry anyway. I'm already getting tired from that spell."

"Indeed," he replied. "Well, have a good day, and I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"See you tomorrow Professor." Harry called with a quick wave.

Dumbledore stepped into the fireplace, dropped some Floo powder from his hand, became engulfed in green flames, and was gone.

"I am afraid we too must take our leave, Harry," came McGonagall's voice. "We still have a great deal to do today. I will be back with Dumbledore tomorrow. Moody and Tonks are off to update the Order members on the change of Secret Keeper.

"Otherwise we might end up having Order members running around not knowing where they are going," Moody added.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Harry," said Tonks. She shook Harry's hand, stepped into the fire, and disappeared.

"Take care, Harry," said Moody. "Don't forget to keep an eye out for danger."

Harry noticed that Moody's magic eye fixed directly on him, and a sudden chill ran through Harry's body. He never could get over the way Moody's eye made him feel. It was as though Moody was looking straight into his soul.

Moody smiled, ducked into the fireplace, and soon he was gone too.

"Well, Harry, let's get things cleaned up around here. I'm afraid I can only stay for a few hours. Ron and Ginny are coming back with the twins for dinner, and I have to be there when they get home. God only knows what those twins will do to the house with those silly contraptions they're making at that joke shop of theirs."

Her voice was filled with annoyance when she spoke, and Harry had a feeling he knew why. It was just last year that both of the twins had dropped out of school to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley had never approved of the boys planning to open a joke shop, but she went completely crazy when the twins had dropped out of school, even if it was because of Professor Umbridge running the school like a military prison.

Ron had sent a letter telling Harry about his trip to their joke shop the day after school got out. According to Ron, the place was busy all day, and that it seemed like they were making a fortune of galleons. It had been only three months ago when they had dropped out of school and opened the shop, and it was already getting a lot of business. Harry was sure that when Mrs. Weasley found out how well the twins were doing, she would get used to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

"That's okay Molly. I'll be here to keep Harry company."

It was Lupin. He had just come back into the kitchen.

"If it's okay with you, Harry, I was hoping to stick around for a while. I'd like to help you clean up the place, now that it's no longer being used for the Order. Besides, it's about time you and I got to know each other a bit better. Besides, if I'm going to be your new godfather, we might want to stop calling each other Professor and Potter."

Lupin smiled at Harry, and they both began to laugh.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley chimed in "if you're going to stick around to help, you can start in the drawing room. We've had an infestation of four-legged spiders ever since Mundungus stored those stupid Flying Rugs in there. How he could sit there with a straight face and tell me they weren't stolen when it was all over the Prophet for nearly a week..." Mrs. Weasley's face turned a bright red, and it looked like she just might explode.

Harry looked over at Lupin with his eyebrow raised. The moment their eyes met, smiles spread across their faces and they headed out the door before bursting with laughter.

The rest of the day went by pretty fast. Harry and Lupin had spent most of the day cleaning up the house and while Lupin regaled Harry with stories about Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs. They also reminisced about the Patronus training and talked about what animal Harry might decide to become. Of course, Lupin didn't know too much about the actual training as he was already a werewolf, but he had heard enough stories from Sirius and James to give Harry small bits of advice.

They laughed and talked all through dinner. Mrs. Weasley left around four after cooking Harry and Lupin some ham and biscuits, potatoes, and a pumpkin and apple pie respectively. She had also left them a half gallon of pumpkin juice. Of course, Dobby had been running around helping her out as much as possible, and this alone was good for half an hour of laughs for Harry and Lupin.

After she left, Dobby ran around cleaning up the dishes while checking on the Harry and Lupin every few minutes to see if there was anything left that he could do for them. Harry had tried to give Dobby a hand, but Dobby would hear nothing of it.

Lupin and Harry continued to talk for a good two hours after dinner before he finally felt ready for bed. It had only been eight o'clock, but the Secret Keeper spell had taken a lot out of him.

"Well, I think it's time for me to turn in. Professor Dumbledore told me to get a good night's sleep, and I really am exhausted. But I want to tell you how much I really appreciate you staying here with me. I know it can't be easy staying here, being as close as you were to Sirius."

"Don't mention it, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "It's my pleasure, and I can't think of a place I'd rather be."

"Thanks," Harry replied with a smile and a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Harry," Lupin said.

Harry headed upstairs and went straight to the same room he slept in when he was here last year. He changed quickly and got into bed. He thought about what had happened already today. Then he considered just what Dumbledore might have in store for him tomorrow.

Harry smiled to himself, closed his eyes, and was asleep within seconds.

Harry woke with a start. His heart was racing, his chest felt heavy, and he was completely covered in sweat. He had had the same nightmare.

The Death Eaters had once again trapped him at the bottom of the same receded room. The Order members came in, and then Dumbledore, and in an instant, it was down to Sirius and Bellatrix.

But this time, just as Sirius began to taunt Bellatrix, everything began to change. It was no longer Bellatrix that was duelling with Sirius, it was Harry.

Sirius had goaded him into attacking. He could actually feel an unbelievable anger boil through his veins and he fired a spell straight at Sirius's head, but sent it off somewhere over his shoulder instead. Sirius laughed and taunted him some more. Harry took aim again and shot another stream of red light straight at Sirius's heart. This time, he was dead on.

It replayed in his head over and over. Sirius's face stuck in his head. He just stared back at Harry with a look of terror and betrayal.

Sirius had not talked to Harry this time, but instead let out a terrible scream that filled the room. It was an ear-piercing scream such that it shook the very insides of Harry's brain. It was a blood-curdling scream of pain like none Harry had heard before.

And the, just as his ears felt as though they would explode, the screaming became a high pitched laughter, and Harry's scare began to burn. The pain was searing straight through his scull and into his brain.

And even after he woke, the laughing echoed in his mind. He was sweating, his covers soaked. He tried to sit up, but his chest still felt heavy. Then he realized that something was holding him down. His mind was still swirling until finally he heard a familiar voice.

"Harry Potter, sir?" came a voice. "Is Harry Potter okay? Dobby heard Harry Potter screaming and came to help him?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and the world stopped spinning.

"Hello Dobby." he said.

He tried to push himself up a bit, but Dobby was still standing on his chest. He looked up at Dobby with a weak smile and asked "Dobby, do you think you might get off me please?"

"Oh!" Dobby cried, "Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby did not mean to hurt Harry Potter. Dobby is only meaning to help Harry Potter, sir."

"It's okay, Dobby. Just get off my chest."

"Dobby is so sorry, Harry Potter." Dobby quickly jumped off Harry's chest and landed on the floor next to the bed.

Harry sat up and stretched. He dropped his legs over the side of the bed and looked over at Dobby.

"What time is it?" Harry said, still quite tired.

"It's one o'clock in the morning, Harry Potter, sir." said Dobby.

"One o'clock?" Harry groaned, puzzled. "Bloody hell. I have to be up in six hours."

Dumbledore was coming at nine o'clock to take Harry to the Ministry and he would not keep Dumbledore waiting. Then, something occurred to him.

"Wait a minute," Harry called, "what are you doing in my room?"

"Dobby came to help Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter was calling out in his sleep. How can Dobby do to help Harry Potter?"

"Don't worry, Dobby." Harry replied. "I'm okay, I think."

Harry took a couple more deep breaths to calm himself down. _Boy did he need to start working on those occlumency exercises_, he thought. He looked back down at Dobby.

"It's okay Dobby." Harry said, patting a spot on the bed next to him. "You can come back up on the bed now."

Dobby jumped up on to the bed. Harry gave a small laugh. Even though Harry was sitting on the bed while Dobby was standing on it, he was no more than 2 shorter than Dobby was. It was then that he noticed how Dobby was wearing much more normal clothes.

"Wow Dobby," he commented, "you're looking pretty spiffy these days. Are those new clothes?"

"Yes, Harry Potter. Dobby is getting them last month on his day off. Dobby is getting many new clothes on my day off. Madam Malkin is helping Dobby to get new shirts, pants, hats, and lots of new socks. She is even making the clothes fit Dobby." Dobby smiled even more broadly.

"You look very nice Dobby." Harry replied. Today he was wearing shorts, a small T-shirt, and two mix-matched socks. He actually looked somewhat normal, considering he was a house elf.

"Thank you Harry Potter," Dobby replied. "Dobby is a free house-elf. Dobby is wanting to look free."

"You look great, dobby," Harry said. He felt happy that Dobby was there just then. It helped him to forget his nightmare.

He talked to Dobby for a little while before saying goodnight, yawned, and laid back in his bed. He wanted to try and remember his occlumency lessons. He hadn't worked on them more than three months.

He went to back to the basics. He had to erase any emotion from his mind. The way he found easiest to clear his head was to close his eyes and imagine the night sky. He would imagine all of those stars keeping the sky so bright, and then he would count backwards from a hundred. Each time he counted down a number, one of the stars would disappear. So he closed his eyes and began to count.

_One hundred, Ninety-nine, Ninety-eight, Ninety-seven, Ninety-six, Ninety-five, Ninety-four, Ninety-three, Ninety-two…_

And soon, all was quiet and peaceful again.

**{====}**

**Coming Soon**

**Chapter 3**

**Lupin, Dumbledore, Fudge**


	3. Chapter 3 Lupin, Dumbledore, Fudge

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 3**

**Lupin, Dumbledore, Fudge**

Harry had woken at five thirty, and by six, it was obvious that he was not going to get any more sleep. So he got up, stretched, and quickly made up his bed.

He gathered a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom where he took a nice hot bath. After he dried off, he went to the sink to finish washing up.

As he brushed his teeth he noticed a small patch of hair beginning to grow on his chin. Of course, it was only a few short hairs and was barely visible, so it was no surprise that he hadn't seen it before. Still, it was a start, and Harry had to smile. He was beginning to grow a beard. Well, okay, maybe not a beard, but it was hair all the same. Harry made a mental note to ask Lupin to take him to Diagon Alley for a razor when he got back on Monday.

After he finished cleaning up Harry went back in to his room to put on one of his nicest robe for his trip to the Ministry. After checking his appearance in the closet mirror, he decided to go downstairs to the kitchen for something to eat. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Dobby running around in the kitchen. It looked like he was cooking breakfast.

"Dobby, what are you doing up so early." he asked. It was only a six thirty, and Dobby had been up with Harry less than five hours earlier.

"Dobby is cooking breakfast for Harry Potter, sir."

"That's not what I mean, Dobby. I mean what are you doing up this early. You should get some sleep."

"Dobby had already had his sleep today, Harry Potter sir. Dobby is sleeping for a whole hour, Harry Potter sir. It is all we house-elves is needing."

"Wow," Harry said, enviously. There had been many a night where Harry only slept for less than an hour and he was always exhausted, especially when his dreams included Voldemort.

Dobby snapped Harry back to life when he placed a steaming bowl of hot cereal in front of him. Before Harry could even pick up his spoon, a bowl of fruit appeared, followed by several plates of eggs with bacon and ham grilled up with a tomato, oat cakes, crumpets, and toasts and with strawberry and grape jams, and a large pot of breakfast tea.

"Is there anything else you is needing, Harry Potter, sir?" Dobby asked.

"Oh no, Dobby," Harry said with a slight chuckle. "I don't know how I'll eat even half of this."

Dobby's ears fell, and Harry knew at once that he had misspoken.

"Oh Dobby, I'm sorry. It all looks great. It's just a bit much for one person. But everything looks so good, I'm sure Lupin will love to have some soon too."

"Have some what?" came Lupin's voice from the hallway.

"Lupin!" called Harry, jumping to his feet. "I was just about to eat. Dobby made us this great breakfast." he said, waving his arm over the table.

Lupin let a small chuckle escape before stifling it into a cough. He looked up at Harry, then over to Dobby.

"Dobby, would it be alright if I ate some of this?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh yes, Mr. Lupin sir. Whatever Sir wants, Dobby can cook for you. What is Sir wanting Dobby to make for him?"

"Oh, I think this is just about perfect for Harry and me."

"Definitely." Harry added. "This is absolutely perfect."

Both he and Lupin sat down at the table and began adding food to their plates. Harry took some eggs, ham, and a couple of oak cakes. Lupin took some eggs, added several slices of bacon, some ham with grilled tomato, half of the crumpets, and a warm bowl of oat cereal.

They ate in silence for several minutes, just enjoying the good food, before Harry finally broke the silence.

"Wow Dobby," he began, "this is really good."

"Indeed." chimed Lupin. "This is one of the best breakfasts I've had in a long time."

"Thank you, sirs. Dobby is happy to be of assistance."

"Just keep up the good work Dobby," he said.

"Too right, Harry." said Lupin. "And if you have any food left over, put it in the cooler. I'll eat it later."

"Yes sir, Mr. Lupin, sir."

Harry and Lupin talk a bit more during breakfast. Harry was anxious to find out what was going to happen at the ministry, but Remus had told Dumbledore that he would not say anything, so he settled for talking about what was to happen over the next few weeks.

They tried to avoid talking about Sirius whenever possible, and other than a few exceptions, they were quite successful. They finished breakfast at seven-thirty, and went upstairs to feed Buckbeak, a hippogriff that Sirius had been taking care of for the past two years. He usually ate half a dozen rabbits, but today he had to settle for a bag of rats.

Harry had grown quite fond of Buckbeak. He first met Buckbeak in Hagrid's first Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry had volunteered to try to approach Buckbeak, and after a few minutes, Harry was flying on Buckbeak's back. He hadn't enjoyed it as much as riding a broom, but he rode him more for Hagrid's benefit than anything else.

As the year had gone by, Harry had seen Buckbeak several more times, and eventually he grew to like Buckbeak. He never rode Buckbeak again, but Harry still liked Buckbeak, and had come to enjoy his company.

He wanted to spend a few minutes with Buckbeak while he was here, as he hadn't seen him since Sirius had died. He found it was a very soothing to be around Buckbeak, especially when he laid his head on Buckbeak's side, listened to his soft breathing and the rhythm of his heartbeat. He sat down next to Buckbeak and set his head on Buckbeak's side and let his head move up and down with each breath that Buckbeak took.

Harry felt very relaxed then, as though he had no worries in the world. He closed his eyes and let go. And then he felt himself lift off the ground.

He was on his broom, flying over the Quidditch field back at Hogwarts. He flew higher and higher, looking over the field and watching as each team fought over the Quaffle, sending Bludgers back and forth at each other. Harry dove over the Gryffindor bleachers and swooped just feet over the crowd, pulling up a few feet high as he soared over Hagrid's head, all the while they cheered him on.

He flew around the field twice before coming to a hover five meters above the Slytherin Goals. He sat there a few moments, watching the action, when a glint of gold caught his eye. And there, fifty meters away from it, Malfoy turned and went into a dive, and Harry smiled. He was at least thirty meters further away from the snitch as Malfoy, but Harry knew he'd get there first.

He dove, going straight at the ground, using gravity to pull him even faster and he pulled up, riding mere feet above the ground, heading straight for the snitch. As he got closer to the snitch, Malfoy clung tighter to his broom and dove, trying to reach it before Harry. But it was no use, and Harry knew it. Soon, Harry was mere inches from the snitch, reaching his hand out and he passed Malfoy, moving in closer, and with his fingers stretched beyond their own abilities, he grabbed onto the snitch, pulled up, and the crowd went wild.

"Harry! Harry! Harry!" they chanted. It seemed that everyone was calling his name as he flew around the field, raising the snitch above his head in victory. "Harry! Harry! Harry!" They Called.

He was sure he could even pick out some of the chants. He could hear Hermione and Ron cheering with Hagrid, and McGonagall, Ginny and Neville, and even Lupin.

"Harry!"

His eyes flew open. Buckbeak lifted his head towards the door, but otherwise stayed still.

Lupin was swatting over him, his arm lighting shaking Harry's shoulder.

Harry looked blankly up at Lupin. He had completely forgotten that Lupin was in the house. But then, as he looked up at Lupin, he began to realize that he hadn't forgotten about Lupin, he had entirely forgotten he was even at Grimmauld Place. His dream was so vivid, he was sure he had really been in a Quidditch match back at Hogwarts.

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head, "what time is it?"

Lupin smiled. "It's almost nine. I was just coming in to make sure you were ready for Professor Dumbledore, and I now see I was right. He should be here soon, so why don't you go get washed up and meet me in the living room. We'll wait for him there."

Harry sat up, gave Buckbeak a little tickle between his ears, and headed out.

He headed to the bathroom, cleaned up, and walked into the living room just as Dumbledore came out of the fireplace. How he always landed on his feet, Harry didn't know, but he knew he'd have to ask him later. Harry felt lucky if he didn't fall flat on his face.

Dumbledore brushed the soot off his shoulders and looked up at Harry, a large smile crossing his face.

"Ah, Harry." He began. "Good to see you again."

"Hello Professor." Harry replied.

"Would you mind if I had a spot of tea before we left? The Minister is not expecting us until nine-thirty, and I would like to take a few moments to prepare you for our meeting with the Minister."

"Yes, Professor." Harry replied curtly. "Let me get you some tea."

At that moment, Dobby appeared out of nowhere holding a tea tray just above his head. Harry thanked him for the tea, took the tray, and set it down on the dining room table.

"May I pour you a cup of tea, sir?" Harry asked, lifting the teapot towards the closest cup to Dumbledore.

"Thank you Harry," Dumbledore said with a polite smile.

Harry poured them each a cup of tea, putting some honey in his own cup and adding two lumps to Dumbledore's. They both took a moment to try out their teas, and Harry noticed that Dumbledore was pouring some dark brown liquid into his own.

"Would you care for some vanilla Harry?" he asked.

Harry looked down at his own cup. "Maybe on the next cup sir. I don't think vanilla and honey would go well together," he said rather timidly.

"Yes. I believe you're right. I once added a spot of lemon to a cup of green tea. Little did I know that my gracious host had already added some cocoa. Mind you, I never made that mistake again." Dumbledore said with soft chuckle, which of course caused Harry to smile broadly back at him. It was always nice to hear Dumbledore speak of the mistakes he had made in his past. It made him seem just a bit more human.

"Now, I believe we have a few things to discuss about our trip to the Minister's office today."

"I was a bit curious about that, sir," Harry said questioningly. "Professor McGonagall said something about making some arrangements for me?"

"Indeed. I understand that Professor McGonagall also spoke to you about taking some private lessons with her?"

"You mean the Animagus training?" Harry asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied graciously. "Well, as I am sure you're aware, you must register with the Ministry of Magic when you complete you Animagus training. Of course, this is normally public record, but we believe that it better to be left unknown to the general public. For that very reason, the Minister has graciously agreed to allow us to bypass this rule in your registry. You see, a wizard normally registers his Animagus form in front of the full Wizengamot. However, the Minister is allowing us to have you register now, and you will do so privately instead of in front of the Wizengamot. The registry file will be written on a protected parchment that only the current Minister or those who sign it will be allowed to read."

"So I'll be keeping my Animagus training private?" Harry asked. "But Hermione and Ron will be able to know, right?"

"Certainly," replied Dumbledore. "And arrangements have been made for them for a later time. But right now, let's return to our meeting with the Minister today. You see, Harry, as well as registering your Animagus form, we will also register the official transfer Sirius' inheritance to you. In addition, and you must promise not to speak of this to anyone, with the exception of Mr. Weasley and Ms Granger, but the Minister has agreed to grant you one additional privilege. One that you would not normally get for another year."

Harry's mind was suddenly racing. Dumbledore couldn't be talking about what Harry thought he was talking about. But even before the words reached his mouth, it seemed Harry's face had asked the question for him, for a moment later, Dumbledore was answering the question for him.

"That's right Harry. The Minister will be granting you a Magic Permit which will allow you to use magic outside of Hogwarts. But don't get too excited, Harry. This does not mean you can do magic as you please. It would be best if the wizarding world did not know, as it could draw more attention to you from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. All we want is for you to be able to practice magic while you are here at the house, at Privet Drive, or at The Burrow. Of course, if you need to protect yourself, you may do so without worrying about underage magic like last summer, but we are taking every precaution to ensure that doesn't happen again. However, as long as Voldemort is still out there, you must keep your guard up."

Harry began to notice a distinct change in Dumbledore's look during their conversation. It had gone from a very pleasant smile to a stern look of concern. It made him look as though he had aged fifteen years over the past five minutes.

"Remember, Harry," he continued, "that Voldemort has no more news about the prophecy since the incident at the ministry, and it's safe to assume that he won't stop searching until he finds out everything he can about that prophecy. Of course, we are trying our best to keep him from knowing anything for as long as possible, but he does seem to have a way of finding things out." Again, Dumbledore was looking at Harry over his spectacles, and the look he gave Harry gave him the shivers.

"I've noticed," Harry agreed.

"Now, I don't want to worry you, Harry. I simply believe it is about time we begin to treat you as the man you are becoming instead of a child. If we had done so before, well..." Dumbledore didn't continue, but simply looked down and appeared to be studying his shoes for a moment or two. When he looked up, his attitude had changed to a much more kindly expression, his smile back in full swing again, and as usual, it lifted Harry's spirit just to see Dumbledore smile.

"Now Harry," he said brightly, "we will be taking the Floo network to the Minister's office, and it's just about time that we go. We don't want to keep the Minister waiting."

And with that, Dumbledore put down his cup, stood, and headed for the kitchen.

Harry put down his cup, looked down at Dobby who had just come up beside him, and handed him the tea tray.

"Thanks for the tea, Dobby. It was quite good."

"Thank you Harry Potter, sir."

"Thanks Dobby." Harry said. Then he turned at looked over at Lupin who was still sitting in the recliner, head back as though he were asleep.

"Remus?" Harry called reluctantly. He still wasn't used to calling him that.

"Yes, Harry?" came Lupin's voice.

"Sorry. Wasn't sure if you were awake. I just wanted to say bye. I don't know how long I'll be at the Ministry for."

"Don't worry, Harry." he replied with a smile. "Everything will be fine here. Dobby and I will clean up around the house for a bit and make lunch for when you get back."

"Okay, I guess we're off then" Harry said with a groan.

Lupin stood up and joined Harry as he entered the kitchen, shaking his hand while patting him on the shoulder.

"Good luck, Harry, and you be mindful of those grates." he said with a wink. "Some of the fireplace grates nearest to the Ministry come a bit too close for comfort, if you know what I mean." Lupin smiled, giving him a bout of support.

"Thank you Proff… I mean, Remus." Harry stuttered. "It's really going to take some time to get used to that."

"Not to worry, Harry. We have all summer. Now get going. We don't want to keep Fudge waiting, now do we?" he said with another wink.

Harry gave him a quick hug before he realized what he was doing, then broke away quickly and headed into the fireplace.

Dumbledore already had a roaring fire going and Harry guessed Dumbledore had started it while he had been talking to Remus.

Dumbledore took out a small leather pouch of what looked like snow white with glints of gold.

"Harry," he said as he opened the pouch for Harry, "this is a very special type of Floo powder. It opens a set of floo channels off limits to all but a few people, and it only goes to a select number of places including the Minister's private office. Just call out 'The Office of Cornelius Fudge' and it will bring you straight to his office. I'll go first as the Minister tends to get a bit jumpy these days." For a moment Harry thought he saw an almost mischievous smirk cross the Professor's mouth before he ducked into the fireplace, and a moment later, he was gone.

Harry waited until the flames died down a bit, stepped into the fireplace, and turned around. He nodded at Remus and Dobby standing next to each other, dropped the floo powder, and called out 'The Office of Cornelius Fudge,' and felt the soft flames consume him.

The kitchen disappeared as the flames swarmed around him, and he began to twist and turn through the Floo network. He noticed as he was flying through the network that he hadn't seen any living rooms or kitchens, but just a few offices. Dumbledore was right. This didn't seem to be open to many people at all.

But Harry didn't have much time to think about that as only a few moments before he came to the Minister's fireplace. He landed on all fours, but at least he was upright, which was better than he had come out most of the time. He stood quickly and brushed himself off. He looked around for Dumbledore and found him taking a seat with Fudge, one empty seat left between them.

He stepped forward, not exactly what to do or how to act. It had been less than two months ago that Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had been telling everyone that Harry was a lying, attention-craving child, and had done his best to verbally attack Harry as often as possible. Now, here he was, talking to Professor Dumbledore with all the exuberance and confidence of a teacher seeing his favourite student after years of being apart. It was infuriating. Harry's blood was beginning to boil when Dumbledore spoke up.

"Harry, you remember Minister Fudge, don't you?" His eyes rose as he said this, giving him a knowing look. Harry smiled quickly, hoping that Fudge wouldn't notice the uncomfortable air between them. He turned and looked at Fudge as he responded.

"Yes sir," he said in a bored voice. "We've met a few of times. The Minister had spoken to school champions during the Triwizard Tournament."

"That's right Harry," he said with a big smile, "and if I remember right, you won that tournament."

It was all Harry could do not to scream at him. He'd prodded Fudge into talking about the tournament to bring up what had happened afterwards, how it was Fudge who had ordered the cover-up about the final challenge of the tournament, and more specifically, the murder of Cedric Diggory by Lord Voldemort afterwards.

Cedric had been killed at the end of Harry's fifth year at the ceremony which brought about Voldemort's return. When Harry returned to the school with Cedrick's body, Fudge refuted Harry's account of what had happened and interrupted Harry before he could tell people what happened. Over the course of the next year, Fudge had made it his mission publicly ensure that Harry was known as a liar, never considering that Harry might be telling the truth. But what really upset Harry was how Fudge had written off Cedric's death and calling Harry a fading celebrity trying to regain fame by lying about the events that led to Cedric's death.

The urge to shout this at the Minister was great, but Harry was going to restrain himself, at least for now, so he replied shortly, "I try to not think about it. That was a rough time for me." At least it was all true, he thought.

"Err, yes, indeed it was. Jolly sorry about all that business. Nothing we can do about that now though. You must look towards the future and all."

"Indeed" chimed Dumbledore. "I think it best if we begin. We wouldn't want to keep you from your duties any longer than necessary."

"Thank you, Dumbledore." Fudge said anxiously. "Yes. We must get going. Lots to do today."

Fudge stood and walked over to the door and stuck his head out. He starting talking to someone, but Harry couldn't tell what he was saying. However, it became apparent soon after who he had been talking to when a moment later Percy Weasley walked into the room carrying some rolls of parchment and a quill. He followed Fudge back to the table where Harry and Dumbledore were sitting and Fudge took his seat, and Fudge addressed Harry and Dumbledore again.

"Well Harry, I understand that Dumbledore has already brought you up to speed on why we are here, so Weasley here will only summarize things for the record."

Percy unrolled the first parchment, cleared his throat, and began.

"Before we begin, everyone present needs to know that the three contracts being signed here today are protected by secrecy charms. Essentially, only Mr. Fudge, Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and those listed on the exemption list at the bottom of each contract may speak freely about the contents of the contracts. Additionally, additions to the exemption list must be authorized by at least two of you. Are there any questions thus far?"

Harry spoke up quickly.

"So basically, I can't talk about this to anyone unless I get permission from the Minister of Professor Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Precisely." answered Fudge. "The three of us will sign the contract before we leave. Percy here will also sign, but he will be signing as a witness only and will not be required to participate in adding to the exemption list the way the rest of us will."

"Okay," Harry said with a short pause, then asked "But what if someone overhears us talking to each other."

"Good question." replied Fudge quickly. "Anyone who happens to overhear us talking would not understand us. It would sound like nothing more than mumbling to them. It's a basic charm used on some of our more important contracts to keep prying ears from hearing too much."

"Oh, Okay. Got it," Harry nodded, hoping he understood.

"Good. Good." Fudge echoed. "Mr. Weasley, please continue."

Percy cleared his throat again and continued.

"The following people are already on the exemption list and will able to discuss the contents of the contract amongst themselves as well as the three of you; Hogwarts Professors Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, and Severus Snape, Hogwarts student Hermione Granger, and the Weasley Family including Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charles, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny, and the squib Arabella Figg. The named above are subject to all restrictions and charms included in the contract that follows and must be notified of said restrictions before the contract will take effect. Does everyone understand and agree to the stipulations of the contract?"

Both Dumbledore and Fudge agreed, but Harry was stunned to answer. He hadn't thought about all of the people involved in what he was doing. All of those people were bound by a magical contract just because Harry was going to learn to be an Animagus and have the right to use magic in cases of emergencies outside of school. It was all way too much.

"Harry?"

Why were so many people involved in such a small thing? Why was he so important that a dozen different people had to swear to keep quite or not know?

"Harry?" someone called again.

It was Dumbledore. This time his voice was much more firm and it brought Harry out of his inner thoughts.

"Sorry?" he said meekly.

"Are you alright Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry paused for moment thinking, and then he responded abruptly.

"It's just that it seems there are so many people agreeing to protect these secrets. It just seems so much just to protect me. Am I really so important that I have to put all of those people through this? It just doesn't seem right."

Again, it was Dumbledore who spoke up.

"Harry, trust me when I tell you that every person mentioned just now is more than happy to agree to the terms of the agreement. And yes, that does include Professor Snape. We all want to keep you safe, Harry, and I want you to know that I have spoken with every one of the adult wizards and witches mentioned and they have all happily agreed to participate in this contract. Mrs. Weasley spoke to all but Ron and Ginny, as I will be talking to them about all of this on Monday. But they all care deeply about you in their own way, and we are all willing to bare a little burden to protect those we care about."

Harry noticed that as Dumbledore spoke, that glimmer in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. It gave Harry a sense of confidence that he had not had just moments before and he felt something he hadn't felt in all his life. It was knowing those people cared enough about Harry to carry a secret with them, even if no charms had been put on the parchment. The sacrifice they were willing to make on his behalf was overwhelming. When next he spoke, it was with a slightly raised voice.

"Sorry sir. It's just a bit much is all. I'm not used to that many people watching out for me. It's just, well, it's a lot to think about. I'm sorry, where were we?"

"I think we can move on, Cornelius." said Dumbledore. "It seems evident to me that Harry understands the full implications of the contract."

"Yes sir." Harry said quickly. He felt the tension flow out of him, and he wanted to continue without making any more of a scene. He figured if they got through it fast enough, he might just be able to pull it off.

"Very well." chimed Fudge again. "Weasley, please continue."

"Yes sir." Percy said promptly. "The first contract is your basic emancipation contract, limited to subsection three, the legal use of magic for an underage wizard or witch. Basically, this states that the wizard in question, that would be you Harry, may use magic in his residence, in the presence of an adult witch or wizard, and in any case of emergency. Any questions so far?"

"No." Harry replied simply.

"Good then. Contract two is a standard Animagus registration form. It simply states your basic personal information, when you trained to be an Animagus, and which Animagus form you take. The amendments to this contract are that your Animagus form will be added at the completion of your training, as well as the date of your training completion. Any questions?

"No, I've got it." Harry said.

"Good. Finally, and this is the most simple contract of the three, is the matter of the change of ownership for the property belonging to a Mr. Sirius Black. As the last living male of the Black line, it was his decision to decide where the Black inheritance was to be transferred. As the sole beneficiary of the Black estate all lands, properties, investments and moneys related to the Black estate will herein be transferred to Mr. Harry Potter. Any questions?"

"Nope." said Harry. "I think I've got it all right."

"Very well then," came Fudge, "If we can all sign the contracts. Harry, you will sign here, where it says benefactor, Dumbledore will sign as witness, and Weasley and I will sign as the required Ministry official and Ministry witness."

They all signed on the appropriate lines. Percy signed the contracts last and after he finished with each contract it duplicated into four additional copies. Percy gave each of them a copy, the originals being given to Fudge for what the Minister called "Safe keeping," as though Harry might lose them or something.

As he passed them out, Percy added, "Each of these copies each have lines at the bottom for each of the fourteen individuals I mentioned. They must read and sign the contract before they may speak of it to anyone, and just to let you know, when any of them sign any copy of the contracts, the other contracts will reflect their signatures in kind. Also, each contract is protected with the standard concealment ink which prevents anyone from reading the contract without the proper incantation, listed at the very bottom of each contract. Well, I believe that's everything."

"Very good, Weasley." said Fudge. "Well, if there is nothing else, I do have quite a lot to do today. That business with Azkaban prison is not getting any better."

"What business is…" Harry tried to ask.

"I believe you are right. Cornelius. Harry, let us leave the Minister to his work."

Dumbledore was giving Harry the look that told him to keep his mouth shut and follow Dumbledore's lead.

"Ready when you are, Professor." Harry replied.

"Very good." Dumbledore said, turned to Fudge and continued, "Well Cornelius, it was a pleasure as always. I shall see you tomorrow, and as always, if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to owl me at Hogwarts."

"Yes, Dumbledore. I'll do that. Well, off you go then. And Harry," he called looking over at him, "do be careful out there."

Harry felt more threatened by the comment than comforted, but he forced a smile all the same.

Again Dumbledore dropped some of the golden floo powder into the fireplace, but this time he had Harry go first.

Again he went swirling around until he finally hit the kitchen floor. He stepped up and cleaned himself off. When he looked up however, he got quite a shock. Dumbledore was standing in front of him. But then Harry remembered that Dumbledore could Apparate. He shook his head a bit and laughed at himself. It had been five years since he had learned of the wizarding world and the most basic magic procedures still surprised him.

Dumbledore beckoned him over to the kitchen table and to find the tea tray was already waiting for them. This time it was Dumbledore who poured the tea, adding some vanilla to each cup. Harry took a couple of sips. He was surprised at just how good it was.

"So, Harry, what did you think of the meeting?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly.

"Well, sir, I don't know what to say."

"Indeed. Well, there are a few things that I have say, Harry, and the first thing is thank you."

"Thank you, Sir? For what?"

"Harry, I know being there in front of the Minister was not the easy for you. I know he has caused you a great deal of grief over the past year, and you still conducted yourself as an adult. I have not known many students who would handle themselves they way you did today. That is why I said thank you before, because you showed such restraint."

"Yea, well, I didn't want to, that's for sure."

"And that is exactly what makes you so different from others. You are willing to do one thing when you would rather do another, just for the sake of those around you. That is a very powerful attitude to have, and it will serve you well in life."

"Yes sir," Harry responded. After a slight pause, he added, "But sir, what was it that Fudge was saying about Azkaban?"

"Yes. Well, you should expect to hear it in the Prophet tomorrow, but essentially, most of the Dementors have disappeared from Azkaban. Because of that, we have had to promote two dozen wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol to Aurors to protect the prison. We feel there will likely be prison break attempts over the next several months. Of course, you already know my position on the Dementors running Azkaban, and it appears the Minister has decided to seek my council on planning for the future."

Again, all Harry could think to do was to nod.

"Now Harry," Dumbledore continued, "you need not concern yourself with those matters just now. All I want you to do is continue your training, and brush up on all of your Defense Against the Dark Arts charms and spells. They will be very important for your class this year. I think you might also find this book on different possible Animagus forms very enlightening."

Dumbledore pulled a book from his cloak and handed it to Harry. It was called _The Many Faces of an Animagus_. Harry couldn't help but smile.

"I hope it helps. Also, I know many people have told you this over the past two days, but I really want you to keep up with your Occlumency lessons. The teacher you will be working with after you get back to Hogwarts is a real stickler for his students showing results in his classes." Again, Dumbledore stared over his spectacles at Harry with a knowing look.

"So who is my new teacher going to be?" Harry asked.

"You needn't worry about that just now. Just keep up on the lessons, and all will be fine. Now, I'm sorry to say that it is time for me to take my leave. Do say hello to your Aunt for me, wont' you Harry? Such a charming young woman."

Harry stifled a laugh. He stood with Dumbledore and headed for the front door. They said their goodbyes, and Dumbledore headed out.

Over the next few hours, Harry and Lupin spent time together looking through the book that Dumbledore had given him and talking about the meeting at the Ministry. Lupin and Dobby made sandwiches for lunch and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing wizard's chess. Before Harry knew it, it was four o'clock and Mrs. Figg had arrived to take him back home.

He was only going to be gone for a little over a day, so the goodbye this time was nothing so dramatic as when he left King's Cross last Sunday. He gave Dobby a soft handshake, and turned to Lupin. He thought about giving him another quick hug, but changed his mind and gave him a firm handshake instead.

"Well, I'm off then. I guess I'll see you on Monday?" He asked hopefully.

"You can be sure of it Harry," Lupin said with a broad smile. "And you take care, okay?"

"Too right. See you."

"Goodbye," Lupin and Dobby said in unison.

So Harry stepped into the fireplace and opened his mouth to call out Mrs. Figg's home when he realized he didn't know what to say. He stepped back out of the fireplace and turned to Mrs. Figg and said, "Sorry, but what do I say to get to your house?"

"Oh my, Harry. Sorry about that. Forgot you haven't been to my house by Floo. Just say 'House of Arabella Figg' and that should do it."

"Right." Harry replied. He stepped back into the fireplace and a few moments later he tumbled out of the fireplace and rolled to a stop in front of her living room couch. A few minutes later he was back in front of his house with Mrs. Figg.

"Well, go on dear. I'd think they would be preparing dinner right about now and I'm sure you've worked up quite an appetite today. Now I'll see you on Monday, eight o'clock."

"Right. And thanks for letting me use your fireplace to go to Sirius's house."

"It's my pleasure, dear. And if there is anything else that you need, just let me know. Now get going. Don't want you being late now."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you Monday," he said with a smile, they turned and headed in.

As he closed the door he waved back at Mrs. Figg, then closed the door and headed upstairs to his bed. However, he only made it half way up the stairs before Uncle Vernon's voice boomed from the kitchen.

"Is that you, boy?" he shouted.

Harry's head fell. He had hoped to go up to his room and avoid the Dursleys until he left on Monday. But he turned around and went back downstairs and into the kitchen.

He opened the kitchen door to find Aunt Petunia cooking dinner while Uncle Vernon sat at the dinner table reading the paper. As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, Uncle Vernon lowered his paper and looked over at him.

"Well, boy, Petunia has told me that you think you are going to be going over to that house of your Godfather's throughout the week."

"Yea," Harry replied.

"Well think again. You're old enough to start doing more chores around the house and I'm not going to let you just keep living here without pulling your own weight around here. Starting tomorrow, Petunia is going to have a list of chores that you will be doing each day."

"But I have things I have to do over at the other house. I have friends coming over, plus I have Occlumency lessons, plus charms."

"Don't you try that with me, boy. You can't be doing magic outside of that school of yours and you know it." Uncle Vernon had a large, smug smile cross his face.

Harry's face had begun to turn red when something suddenly crossed his mind. Harry countered Uncle Vernon's smile with an even larger one of his own as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small parchment. He unfolded it, looked at the bottom of the parchment and said, _Aperio__ hi pactum enim mei amicus_.

The words glowed white for a moment, and Harry was sure he had said the incantation correctly. He handed it to Uncle Vernon as his smile grew even wider.

"What's this?" Vernon asked as he jerked the parchment from Harry's hand. However, as Uncle Vernon's eyes moved down the page his look went from anger to horror and by the end of the page he looked whiter that the parchment.

"What is it Vernon?" Aunt Petunia asked. Vernon handed it over to Petunia with a shaking hand. She was no more than a third of the way through the parchment when a small squeak escaped her lips. It was all Harry could do not to break out laughing.

"So," he said, "I guess I'll just be practicing my magic here then. But don't worry, I only have a few dozen spells I have to work on. I just hope I can stop setting things on fire," he said, just inches from bursting out laughing. Vernon and Petunia, on the other hand, looked ready to faint.

"I will not have you doing that, that stuff in my house," he said, barely getting the words out of his mouth.

"Well, I have to do it somewhere. That's why Professor Dumbledore wanted me to go to Sirius's house. That way I could do magic without doing it here." This was the first time that Harry had deliberately said the "M" word without worrying about being punished. He was sure that they were more afraid of what he might do to them than they were with his saying magic in front of them. But it didn't take long for Uncle Vernon to respond, and it was just as Harry expected.

"Fine. Go there if you must. But I don't want to hear another word from you for the rest of the year. Not a single word. Do you understand boy?" he half snarled at Harry.

"Sure. Thanks. I'll just be going to my room then," he said, grabbed the parchments back, and headed out of the kitchen. The moment the kitchen door had shut, Harry ran up the stairs two at a time. By the time he reached the top of the stairs his eyes were watering from pent up laughter and he began to laugh as quietly as possible as he headed to his room.

He opened his door and started towards his desk to put away his parchments when he noticed something off towards his bed. He turned and saw something that made him to grab hold of the desk to keep him from collapsing.

Over on his bed, sitting with his school books scattered around him, Dudley stared blankly back at Harry, Harry's wand in his hand, a white feather floating just above his head.

**{====}**

**Coming Soon**

**Chapter 4**

**Dudley's Story**


	4. Chapter 4 Dudley’s Story

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 4**

**Dudley's Story**

Dudley's face had gone stark white. He dropped the wand, and the feather floated back down to the bed.

Suddenly, Dudley was up and running for the door. Harry had no time to think, but he knew he had to stop Dudley from leaving. He dove for his wand, grabbed it, and called out, _Colloportus_, and the door clicked. Dudley ran straight into the door and fell flat on his back.

Harry stood quickly, ran over to Dudley, and threw him over to the bed. He was a bit startled at how easily he had handled Dudley, but he didn't have time to think about that just now.

"What the hell do you think you were you doing?" He whispered angrily. "And when the hell did you start using magic? Have you been doing it all this time?"

Harry's anger was flaring up to full throttle. "How did you do it?" he demanded.

Dudley just stared at him blankly. Harry could see him trying to think of a way out. But he didn't have much of a choice. If he called out for help, Uncle Vernon would come up and he would have to explain why he was in Harry's room. That would bring up questions that Harry knew Dudley did not want to answer.

Finally, Dudley began to show signs of movement, but only to get as far from Harry as possible.

"I asked how you did it." Harry demanded, his voice getting louder.

"I, I don't know," squeaked Dudley. "I just read that book and did what it said." He pointed over to the charms book where it had fallen on the floor from his mad dash to the door.

"I didn't think I could really do it," he continued. "I mean, I didn't think it would actually work. I've never done anything like that with a wand before."

"Really. So what have you done?" Harry snapped back.

"Nothin. I haven't done nothin." Dudley's voice was getting louder, and if this kept up, Uncle Vernon was bound to hear. He had also backed all the way to Harry's desk and was cowering from Harry as though expecting Harry to hit him.

Harry took a step back from himself for a moment. Dudley was scared of him, and for the second time in his life, Harry felt something other than annoyance or anger with Dudley. He felt sorry for him.

"Look," he started, "Let's just calm down here a bit before Uncle Vernon comes up here and we both get in trouble."

Harry walked over to the desk and pulled out the chair. He then lifted up Dudley and dropped him into the chair. Again he noticed how easily he manhandled him, and that's when he noticed just how much weight Dudley had lost over the past year. But there were other things on his mind just then.

"Okay," he began, "let's start at the beginning. I know you've done this before, so when did you first start doing magic? Was it back when I was getting my letters?"

"No." Dudley replied dryly.

"Okay, so when was it?"

"Back at school. Things would just happen when I was mad or upset. Things would drop off the shelves, or some kid I was chasing would trip if he got too far away. It would remind me of when you ended up on top of the cafeteria that time. So I tried to do things myself. I looked up stuff and tried to do it, but nothing ever worked the way I wanted it to."

"So that's why you came in my room when I was gone. To see if you could make something happen on purpose."

"Yeah." He seemed more scared and nervous than ever. He looked as though he was going to fall through the chair if he didn't get himself in check soon.

"Right, then. I'm not mad at you, okay?" Harry said in a softer voice. "Just, I don't know. Go to bed. I have to think about this for a while." His head was pounding and the room was spinning. He needed some time alone to think.

"Look, I'll talk to you later. Maybe I can get you one of my old books to read, if you want."

"Uh, okay." Dudley said mildly.

Harry went over to his trunk and got out his first year transfiguration book. He figured it was probably more than he could handle, and it would buy him some time.

"Here, take this. It's one of my transfiguration books. It'll tell you how to change a cup into a rat, things like that. Just don't show it to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon. They'll go nuts if they know you can do stuff, and then they'll probably start treating you like they treat me.

Dudley's eyes flew open and he opened his mouth to speak, but had second thoughts and shut it again.

"That's right. Just remember what Aunt Petunia said about my mum. If she would kiss off her own sister because she was a witch, she could do it to you too. Just hide it under your bed or something. They never go in your room anyways."

"Right," Dudley replied with a little more energy. He headed for the door with his book, but when he tried the handle, the door wouldn't open.

"Oh, right," Harry said, lifting his wand. Dudley jumped back, and Harry lowered it again saying, "Don't worry, I'm just going to unlock the door."

He pointed the wand at the door, called out, _Alohomora_, and the door unlocked. But Dudley still wasn't moving.

"Hey," he said, "I thought you couldn't do magic outside that school of yours."

_Oh great, we're back to that attitude again_, he thought.

"Well, I wasn't until today. But I got permission, so now I can. That's probably why we didn't have owls knocking on the windows to give me a letter expelling me from school when you were doing magic. They thought it was me, and I can do spells at home now, but only for practice, or in case of emergencies like last year."

"Oh," was all Dudley said.

"So, I've got to go do something for a bit. Just take the book and hide it in your room before Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon come upstairs looking for us for dinner."

Dudley nodded and headed out the door. Harry followed him out, and just for safe measures, magically sealed the door again to make sure nobody tried to get back in. Then he headed downstairs and back into the kitchen. He had to do this quick before they would get too upset.

He walked straight through the kitchen door and over to Uncle Vernon.

"Excuse me," he said as politely as possible, "but I need to go back out for a moment. I left something back at Sirius's house that I need to have for homework."

Uncle Vernon just grunted back at him, and he took this as a yes, turned back around and headed for the door. Just as he reached the door, Uncle Vernon spoke up.

"Dinner will be promptly at five, so if you want to eat, you'd better hurry up." His voice was full of spite, but Harry ignored it. He didn't think he would be hungry any time soon anyways, not with what he had just learned.

"Right," was all he said in reply. He walked straight out of the room and out of the house. The moment he was out the door, he began to run straight to Mrs. Figg's house.

A few minutes later, he was at her front door and knocking considerably harder than necessary, but he had to talk to her now.

The moment she opened the door, he started talking as fast as he could.

"Hold on, Harry," she said with her hands up, "you need to calm down a bit. Now take your time and tell me what's going on. Was it another Dementor?" It was obvious in her voice that she was greatly concerned.

"No, it'd Dudley. He's a wizard, or I think he's a wizard, or maybe he's a Death Eater using Polyjuice potion, or, I don't' know."

"Hold on, Harry. Did you just say that Dudley's a wizard?" She was clearly confused, but it didn't seem like she was all that concerned. It seemed like she was very curious, rather than worried.

"Yeah. When I got home, I came in my room and he was using my wand to levitate a feather. He got the spell from my first year charms book."

"Oh my. Now that is interesting. I don't believe I've heard of that happening in quite some time. But then, look at your mother's abilities. It's not a huge surprise that Petunia could have a child who was magically inclined."

"But how could that have happened when he's not a wizard," Harry asked her. "I mean, he wasn't last year. He couldn't even see the Dementors when they came after us. One of them was only a few inches from his face trying to kiss him, and he never saw a thing."

"That's right," she said in an almost amused tone. "I'll bet that's what kick-started everything. I'll bet he's been doing small bits of magic ever since. It was probably like you when you did small things at school or home, whenever you got mad or scared."

"Yeah, I know. He mentioned a couple of times at school where weird things had happened to him."

"Right," she announced. "Well, I think this is something that we need to tell Dumbledore about. Please, come inside. I'll make us a spot of tea while we wait for him."

Harry went inside and they went over to the family room where he took a seat on the couch. She walked up to the mirror on the wall, picked up a small piece of parchment, and turned to Harry.

"Harry dear, would you mind?" she asked.

"Mind what?" he replied.

"Oh my, I'm sorry dear. I had assumed you had used one of these before. This is a conference mirror. Just tap it with your wand and say the name of the person you want to talk to, and they will answer. It's a lot like a phone, without having to dial. In this case, we want to talk to Dumbledore, so just tap it and say his name and he should come on in a few moments.

Of course, Harry hadn't heard half of what she had said. The moment she had said what it was, he remembered the small mirror Sirius had given him last Christmas. If he had only known what he had. He could have talked to Sirius that way. He could have…

"Harry," Mrs Figg said, snapping him out of it. "Did you hear me? We must contact Dumbledore as soon as possible."

"Right," he replied quickly. He tapped the mirror and called out Dumbledore's name.

"Alright. Now, while we wait for him to answer, I'll get a pot of tea going for us." She hurried into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came back, offering Harry a seat.

"It might take a few minutes before…"

"Hello," came Dumbledore's voice from the mirror.

Harry stood quickly and got in front of the mirror. It was a bit odd, looking at Professor Dumbledore this way. It was like watching the telly and having it watch you back.

"What can I do for you Harry?" he asked with a soft smile.

"Well, sir, it's Dudley. I don't know what happened, but it seems like Dudley has somehow become a wizard. I caught him using my wand to do magic in my room."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, slowly stroking his beard. After a few long moments he continued.

"Well, it looks like I will be seeing your Aunt again sooner than I had imagined." He seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, then returned his gaze to Harry.

"Harry, do you think that Dudley is likely to do anything too impulsive within the next two days?"

"No sir," he replied. "I talked to him for a little bit, and I gave him my first year transfiguration book. He shouldn't be able to do anything with it over the next couple of days. I was in class with Professor McGonagall for two weeks before I could do much of anything, and I had a wand."

"Indeed. Well, I think the best course of action at this point is for me to speak with young Mr. Dursley in person. Do you think he might accompany you to Mrs. Figg's house on Monday? I can speak to him there before you go over to Grimmauld Place."

"Well, yeah. I think I can talk him into it." He hoped he sounded surer of himself than he was. He had no idea how he was going to talk Dudley into coming with him to meet Professor Dumbledore.

"Good. Arabella, would you mind getting in touch with Minerva and letting her know what's going on? I am in the middle of something now, but as soon as I wrap things up here I will be going over to the Ministry to inform the Registrar of Wizards and Witches that I will be registering a Slyder."

"Right. Is it okay if I have Harry call her? It'll take me at least half an hour to get her if I try myself."

"Indeed. Harry, do you think you might be able to help Mrs. Figg with contacting Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes sir," he replied happily.

"Thank you, Harry. Well, I must get going if I am to finish up here in time to catch Cornelius before he goes home for the day. I'll see you on Monday, Harry. Arabella," he said, nodding to her. A moment later, he was gone.

While Harry called for Professor McGonagall, Mrs Figg went into the kitchen and came back a few moments later with a fresh pot of tea, just as McGonagall appeared in the mirror. He and Mrs. Figg brought her up to date on what had transpired and told her what was going to happen. She promised to be there on Monday to help speak with Dudley, and more importantly, to prepare Mr. and Mrs. Dursley for what was to happen next.

Since it was nearly six by the time everything was settled, Mrs. Figg fixed Harry a couple of chicken sandwiches and a bag of crisps for dinner. He left for home at a quarter to seven. When he got home, he headed straight upstairs, past his room, and knocked on Dudley's door.

After a few moments, Dudley opened his door. He didn't say anything, but opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside. Harry stepped in and looked around. He had only gone into Dudley's room a few times, and not in a long time. The room was a big mess, with clothes and old broken computer parts, video game boxes, and a couple dozen movie cassettes lying all over the place. He cleared a spot on the bed and took a seat.

"Well," he started, "I spoke with my Professor and he wants to meet with you."

Harry figured the best way to do this was to talk to Dudley in a straightforward manner, tell him what he needed to. Professor McGonagall said that she would be talking to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in a few days, so Dudley wasn't going to dodge that bullet anyway. This was simply going to be his chance to talk to Dumbledore first.

"Why does your Professor want to talk to me?" Dudley asked. "He doesn't think I'm going to that freak show you call a school, does he?"

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed," Harry retorted, "you're a freak now too, just like me. You are doing magic now, and that makes you a wizard. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better off you're going to be. As far as why you are going to talk to Professor Dumbledore, he wants to talk to you. Since he's the most powerful wizard in the world, as well as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I think you might just want to hear what he has to say while you have the chance. Besides, he's got a lot of pull with the Ministry, and right now you could use someone with connections to watch out for you."

"So what's he want with me?" he asked, more fear than confidence emanating from his voice.

"He just wants to talk to you. He'll probably offer to let you come to school if you want, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Personally, I don't care either way, but you need to talk to him so he can tell you how to live with your magic without blowing up the house. You remember what happened when I got mad at Aunt Marge, don't you? What if you did that to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon?"

Dudley's eyes went wide in horror. Harry knew at that moment that he had him. There was no way Dudley was going to chance making a mistake and blowing up his parents. He may have been a spoiled brat, but he wouldn't be spoiled much if his parents floated away.

"So, can I tell him you'll be there?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. How am I supposed to get there without getting in trouble?"

"Well, tell them that you are going out for a while. Just leave about fifteen minutes before me and tell them you don't want to be around when I leave. They'll believe it. Besides, it will be on Monday, so you'll only have to tell Aunt Petunia. She lets you do whatever you want anyways. Just go to the park, sit tight for five minutes, then head back to Mrs. Figg's house. By the time you get back from the park, I should be there. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall will be there around then, and they can tell you what you need to know. Trust me, if they'll help a git like Malfoy, they'll help you."

"Why don't you piss off," Dudley replied. He thought about it for a few minutes, screwing up his face in the process. Finally, he replied, "Yeah, I'll be there."

He paused for a moment, then stood up and headed to the door.

"Well, you can go now. You might be helping me out here, but don't go thinking that I'll start liking you or anything. I can barely…"

"Hey," Harry said, interrupting Dudley. He stood up and walked towards the door, and Dudley. "Don't you go thinking I'm doing this for you. I can't have Voldemort going around finding out where I live. If you go out and do something stupid just because you don't know any better, it could get me killed."

Dudley's face went ashen white again. Harry ignored it and walked to the door, put his hand on the doorknob, and just before he opened it he said, "Don't forget. I'll be leaving here on Monday at nine in the morning, so you need to leave by eight forty-five. Got it?"

Dudley just nodded his head.

Harry cracked open the door and looked down the hall. When he was sure that nobody was coming, he headed straight to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked ready for an early grave. He sighed, dried his hands and face, and headed back to his room.

He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. It was only a little after seven, but he felt like it was midnight. He spent a little while reading through his Animagus book, but it was not long before he was so exhausted that the drawing began to melt into a swirl of colours, the words becoming blurred and distorted.

Finally, he tossed the book on top of the desk, changed, and got into bed. He closed his eyes, and was just beginning to fall asleep when he remembered he had to do his Occlumency training. So again, he stared at the ceiling and started counting. He never made it to ninety.

Sunday flew by very quickly.

Harry decided to spend most of the day inside his room practising his summoning and banishing spells and reading _The Many faces of an Animagus_. What had surprised him was how many mystical creatures were in the book. Of course, most of them were just unusual versions of common creatures like a six-foot tall spider, giant birds, and of course, giant dogs.

There were some more unusual animals, though. There is a Hellcat, which is basically a smaller brother to the lion with fiery red hair. There is a Nightmare, which is basically a black horse with fire for hair, a Pegasus, which is a flying horse, and also a Hippogriff.

But the ones that truly intrigued Harry were the sphinxes. Each of the sphinxes had a human-lion like body, with wings of a large falcon. But the Androsphinx which had the face of a man, the Criosphinx with the heads of a ram, and Harry's favourite, the Hieracosphinx with the head of a hawk or falcon. He liked the latter best because it reminded him of Buckbeak.

But he was also torn because he also liked the Lammasu. The Lammasu had the solid body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and the face of a man, which is also a winged lion, but with wings of an eagle and a much larger which is much more like a lion.

He wasn't sure why, but he liked the idea of having the body of a lion with wings. He didn't much enjoy riding on Buckbeak, but he somehow knew that it would be different to fly on his own.

After a while, he put down the book and went back to his charm practice. He worked on some disarming charms for DADA, transformed his chair into a cat and back again, and levitated his furniture and moved it around the room. Around three o'clock he took a quick walk to the park, just to get out for a bit, but was back half an hour before dinner.

After dinner he went up to his room and packed his things. Since this time he would be gone for a week, and he would be going back quite often, he decided to pack nearly half his stuff, though he made sure to leave just a bit more here than he was going to take. With how comfortable he was at Grimmauld Place, he had to find some reason to call this place home, and he couldn't think of anything better than keeping a majority of his things here, even if just barely.

When he was packed and ready to go, he headed to Dudley's room to remind him of the plan for the next day. By this time Dudley was back to his old crude self, but Harry could tell that he was a bit anxious to find out what was going to happen tomorrow. It was fun to know that Harry was one up on Dudley for a change.

When he returned to his room around seven, he decided that he would spend the rest of the night working on his Occlumency lessons. He only had two days to get back into shape and he knew that he was in for it if he wasn't at least as good as he was the last time he had faced Snape. That reminded him of their last lesson, where Harry had looked into the Pensieve of Snape's memories and incurred a fury from Snape like he had never received before. Snape had thrown him out of his office and cancelled the lessons from that point on.

He hadn't been very rattled by Snape throwing him out, but he had been very upset by what he had seen in the Pensieve. He had watched as his dad had ribbed, raged, and even assaulted Snape, which in and of itself wasn't all that bad, except then he found out that his dad had done it all for the fun of it and not because Snape had done something first. His mum had asked why his dad had attacked Snape and he had said, "Well, it's more the fact that he exists," and Harry couldn't stop thinking that his dad had been wrong in what he had done. He had talked to Sirius and Lupin about it, but they weren't really objective about it, and they didn't exactly seem to feel that his dad was really wrong for what he had done. And now Harry was getting all upset about it all over again when he was supposed to be working on clearing his emotions.

He cleared his mind and started his exercises. He tried to clear his mind and imagined a tree with a hundred birds in it. He took a deep breath exhaled, and one of the birds flew away. He took another breath and another bird flew away.

He continued his exercises until he was ready for bed. He went to the bathroom, cleaned up, came back to his room, and went to bed. He finished the night with his standard skyward exercise to clear his mind, and it was not long before he was fast asleep.

Harry awoke brightly the next morning at six and was cleaned up and in the kitchen by a quarter to seven. He found that everyone was already having breakfast when he got there. He tried to say as little as possible and only acknowledged Dudley with a nod. Dudley replied with a quick nod back and went back to his paper. He had been reading the paper for quite some time now, emulating Uncle Vernon, which of course he was given lots of praise from Uncle Vernon for.

"That's my boy," he would say. "Always keeping up with the news. That's how a young man gets ahead in life. You'll be able to come to work for me at the office by next year if you keep this up," he would say proudly. Of course, when Harry tried to watch the news on the telly, he was a mischievous kid trying to get himself into trouble.

Harry finished his breakfast as quickly as possible and headed back up to his room. He put the three bags he was going to take with him into a pile on his bed and shrank them so he could put them all into his backpack. Finally, he made sure to pack his schoolbooks and wand. It was just as he had dropped his wand into the bag that he heard the familiar knocking at his window.

He opened the window to let Hedwig in. Hedwig hopped onto his desk and waited for Harry to pull the small parchment from his leg. The moment Harry removed the letter, Hedwig flew over to her cage and began to eat.

Meanwhile, Harry opened the letter and read;

Dear Harry,

I don't know if this letter will get to you before we see you on Monday, but I wanted to ask you something before we get there. Dumbledore asked me and Hermione to meet with him at nine in the morning, but then this morning he told us we'd have to wait until later in the day to talk to him. And he wants us to wait until he owls us before we can come to Grimmauld Place. Do you have any idea what's going on? Hermione is going to come here at nine on Monday and we'll be waiting here for him to show. If you can try to get a letter back to us before then, we'd really appreciate it. Thanks, and we'll see you soon.

Ron.

Harry sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to get Hedwig over to Ron before Dumbledore got there, and even if he could, he couldn't say anything anyhow as he had promised Dumbledore that he wouldn't. So he just sat there and read the letter from his best friend one more time.

Next, he went over to Hedwig's cage and put out his arm for her to hop onto. Then he brought her over to the window and she jumped down to the windowsill.

"Hedwig, I know you just got back, but I have to send you over to Sirius's house. That's where I am going to be during the week for the holidays. So I need you to head over there, and I'll have the cage ready for you when you get there."

Hedwig seemed to slump down an inch or so, but she quickly recovered, turned, and jumped out the window, flying off towards the sun.

Harry quickly shrank Hedwig's cage and put it into his bag. Then he headed for the door. It was already eight thirty-five and soon Dudley would be heading downstairs to go to the park.

He sat down with his back to the door and put his ear to the door. It was lucky that he had done so early, as only a few moments later he heard Dudley leave his room. He took a few steps, stopped in front of Harry's door, and knocked lightly on the door. Harry quickly jumped up and cracked open the door.

"Just making sure you weren't going to chicken out," Dudley whispered. Before Harry could respond, Dudley smirked at him for half a second before turning, strode down the hall, and headed downstairs and out of sight.

Harry went back to the bed and watched the clock. The next ten minutes seemed like a lifetime. At one time he actually thought he saw the clock begin to turn backwards. Finally, at eight forty-eight, Harry decided that he couldn't wait any longer, grabbed his bag, and headed downstairs.

He went into the kitchen, found it empty, and headed into the living room. There he found Aunt Petunia watching the talk shows.

"Well, I'll be going then," he said nonchalantly. All he got in response was a wave of her hand.

He shrugged, hefted his backpack, and headed out. He walked straight to Mrs. Figg's house and found Dudley sitting on the sidewalk between two cars.

He stood just before Harry got to him and looked extremely worried.

"You should know now that if this is some kind of a joke," he began, "I'll make sure you won't be able to use that wand of yours for a year. Do you understand?"

His voice was raw and hard, but Harry could see that he was fuelled by complete fear.

"Don't worry," he assured Dudley, "I don't care about you enough to go through all this trouble just to play a stupid hoax on you."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Two reasons. One, because if you screw something up and do magic in the house, that brings a good amount of unwanted attention. Then Voldemort's Death Eaters will come and try to kill me, and then he'll kill you, Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon just for the fun of it. And secondly…"

"Oh come off it." Dudley said, talking over Harry. "It's not like everyone in Europe is searching the country just to kill you. You're not that important."

"Yeah," Harry laughed, "well we'll just see what you think after you have a talk with Dumbledore. You just tell him what you just told me and see what he says."

Harry didn't wait for Dudley to respond, but turned around instead and shook his head and went over to Mrs. Figg's front door. The door opened just before Harry knocked and Mrs. Figg ushered them in quickly.

"Hurry up, boys. You know how much of a gossip Petunia is. We can't let her know you've come here until you have spoken to Dumbledore. I'm glad you got here a bit early too. It will give me a few moments to talk to you boys before he gets here. Please, take a seat and I'll be with you in a moment."

Harry sat down on the couch, followed promptly by Dudley. They didn't talk to each other, and after a few moments Mrs. Figg came back in with tea. She offered them both a cup, took one for herself, and sat down in the armchair across from them.

"So," she said, addressing Dudley, "there are a few things that Dumbledore asked me to tell you before he arrived. First, he wants to assure you that you are completely free to leave at any time. However, it would be in your best interest to stay and listen to everything he has to say to you as he is here to help you in whatever you decide you want to do."

It occurred to Harry that his must be a very painful subject for Mrs. Figg to discuss, as she was a Squib and all. Dudley was given the gift that she was denied, and he might not even want it.

"So," she continued, pulling Harry's attention back, "I suggest you stay and listen to everything he has to tell you. After that, you can decide what you want to do. Now, Professor McGonagall will be joining us soon and she's probably going to show you some magic, just a few light spells to get you familiar with magic. I know you will have questions for her afterwards, but are there any questions you want to ask me before they arrive?"

Dudley seemed, struck dumb for a moment, but just as Harry began to speak, Dudley spoke up.

"Um, are you a witch?" he asked, fear sparking in his eyes.

"Oh no, dear," she replied in an upbeat voice, "I'm a Squib. Not an ounce of magic in me."

"What's a Squib?" he asked, the fear ebbing from his eyes.

"A Squib is a person with Magical parents, but not magical themselves. It's the opposite of a Muggle-born wizard or witch."

"Sorry, but what's a Muggle?"

"Oh my. I forgot you don't speak with Harry too much, now do you. Yes, well. To answer your question, a Muggle is what the wizarding world calls non-magical folk, like you and your parents, or just about anyone you'd normally know. Course, you're not exactly a Muggle any more now are you."

Harry thought he could detect a hint of jealousy from Mrs. Figg, but he didn't' get a chance to think about it as a moment later a rumbling sound came from the fireplace and out came Professor Dumbledore, followed moments later by Professor McGonagall.

Professor Dumbledore was dressed in his full dress robes while Professor McGonagall was dressed in her Muggle clothes. Harry was sure he knew why she was wearing that. Though he had never seen it himself, Hermione had told him about how McGonagall had come and spoken to her and her parents to present her first year Hogwarts invitation.

Professor McGonagall had arrived in Muggle clothes, and then used magic to change into her school robes right in front of them as an example of magic. Harry doubted that she would do the same in front of the Dursleys, as she already had a fair idea of what the Dursleys were like.

"Good day," said Dumbledore. "Hello Harry. Hello Mr. Dursley."

Dudley flushed. Being addressed by Dumbledore had been an experience that Harry would never forget, and looking at Dudley, Harry didn't think Dudley would ever forget it either.

"Harry, may I speak with you for a moment?" he asked.

"Yes sir, of course," Harry replied, a bit mystified.

"Minerva," he said, nodding to her. She nodded back with a courteous smile and turned to Dudley. She started by introducing herself, but Harry didn't hear anything else as he was led into the kitchen by Dumbledore.

"Harry, I wanted to speak with you briefly about your cousin. You know him much better than any of us, and I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight into his personality, what we might expect from him, and how he might fit in at Hogwarts."

"Well, to tell you the truth, Dudley and I never really got along sir. He and I have always had the same kind of relationship as me and Draco Malfoy. Frankly, he's a spoiled, bullying, selfish git. Sorry, but that's the only Dudley I know. As far as how he'll react to being a wizard or going to Hogwarts, I haven't a clue. I know that he'd be tempted just so that he can do that much more than anyone else, but at the same time, his parents aren't going to like it none too much and I don't think he'd be willing to tell them. More than that, he thinks that anyone who uses magic is a freak, so I don't know what to tell you."

When Harry finished, Dumbledore remained motionless for a few moments, then a smile crossed his face. It was as though he couldn't have hoped for better answer from Harry.

"Harry, I would like to ask you something very important, and I know it's going to be hard for you to answer so I won't expect an answer today, but if your cousin decides to come to Hogwarts with us, would you be willing to help him integrate into the school? I'm sure the fact that he is your cousin will make a large impact on the students and it isn't going to be easy, especially with his heritage."

"Well, sir, frankly, I don't know what to do, but it would be my guess that he wouldn't want to hang around me anyway. He doesn't much like me and he's spent that past fifteen years picking on me."

"Of course," said Dumbledore, smiling even more broadly, "but I think your cousin just might surprise you, if you are willing to give him a chance."

"Well, sir, if he wants my help, I'll see what I can do. But I wouldn't expect any miracles."

"All I would ask is that you try. If he does not find the help he needs from you, I'm sure he will find it with some of the other students. However, since he is a Slyder, he's going to be an even bigger outcast than that of a normal Muggle born wizard."

"Sorry," Harry chimed in, "but a Slyder? I don't remember hearing of a Slyder before."

"Yes, you wouldn't. A Slyder is very rare person indeed. A Slyder is a Muggle or Squib who becomes a wizard at a very late age in life. It is usually connected to a life and death situation involving magic, but even then it is very rare for the event to trigger that kind of a change in a person."

"So it was the Dementor attack last year."

"It is very likely. Honestly, had he been anyone else, I would have found it hard to believe. However, the most impossible events seem to surround the great Harry Potter, now don't they?" Dumbledore said with another broad smile.

"Yeah, it does. But if it takes me a lifetime, I plan to break that cycle." Harry said, smiling broadly as well.

"Indeed, I can see why you might try. Well, I think it's time for me to return to the living room to speak with young Dudley. I think it would be best if you would only stay for a few moments, as things may get a bit embarrassing for him. However, if you could give him a vote of confidence before you go with Professor McGonagall, I think it would help a bit."

"Yes sir." Harry said mildly.

They both stood and headed back into the living room. McGonagall was showing him the levitation spell by moving a cup and saucer around the room, then back into her hand. Harry headed back to the couch and sat down next to Dudley.

"So Dudley," he said in a chipper voice, "what do you think?"

"I don't know. It's all kinda weird. But I can tell you one thing. Even if I did want to try it, to go to that school of yours, there's no way Mum and Dad are going to let me go."

"Actually, I believe there is something I may be able to do to help you with that," came Dumbledore's voice. "Harry, if I could speak with Mr. Dursley here, he and I will meet you at Grimmauld Place in a bit." Though it came as a request, Harry knew there was no objecting, though he wouldn't even if he could.

"Yes sir." Harry responded, nodding his head. He turned to Dudley and said softly, "Dudley, if you want to have any chance of learning to use magic the right way, listen to Dumbledore. He's the greatest wizard alive, and if you go to Hogwarts, he'll be your headmaster. So trust what he tells you. And remember, you can go whenever you want, and I don't really care either way, but if you know what's best for you, you'll stay and listen to what he says, okay? Good. So, I'll see you in a bit."

Harry gave Dudley a weak smile, patted him on the shoulder, then stood and headed for the fireplace where Dumbledore was waiting for him.

"Thank you Harry," he said affectionately. "I know this wasn't the easiest thing for you to do, and that's yet another sign of just how far you've come in the past five years, and I'm very proud of you. Now, we'll see you in a little while, and don't be too surprised if young Mr. Dursley is with us."

"Yes sir." Harry responded. "But don't be too surprised if he decides not to come."

"Well, we'll see soon." Dumbledore said with a mischievous grin.

Harry stepped into the fireplace, smiled to Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Mrs. Figg, and gave a salute to Dudley as he called out "Grimmauld Place," was consumed in the flames, and disappeared.

He arrived at Grimmauld Place a few moments later with Lupin sitting at the dinning room table waiting for him.

Lupin stood and headed over to greet him, but was a bit too slow as suddenly Dobby popped in from nowhere and hugged Harry around the waist.

"Hello Harry Potter, sir. Welcome back. Dobby is happy to see Harry Potter back. Is there anything Harry Potter is wanting for lunch?"

"Well, Dobby, if it's not too much trouble, I wouldn't mind a sandwich," He said, smiling down at Dobby.

Dobby smiled broadly, jumped off Harry, and headed off to make lunch.

Then Lupin finally made his way over to say hello. They sat down for lunch and talked for nearly an hour about Dudley and what Dumbledore might do if Dudley did decide to go to Hogwarts. They talked about how Harry would cope with Dudley going to Hogwarts, and Remus gave him advice whenever possible. Then, just before noon, they tired of talking about Dudley and headed upstairs to do some more house cleaning.

They continued to work until two thirty, and then went back downstairs for a snack. They were just digging into some brownies when the familiar rumbling from the fireplace caught their attention. They looked over just in time to see Molly Weasley pop out of the fireplace, followed by Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, Ron, Ginny, and last but not least, Hermione. The moment they saw Harry, they all headed straight for him and before he knew it, he was drowning in a pool of hugs, slaps, and handshakes.

But before everyone could say hello, the fireplace began to rumble again and this time it was Dumbledore who popped out, followed by Professor McGonagall, and to Harry's surprise, Dudley. What's more, he was wearing a Hogwarts robe.

"Hi all," Dudley cried out with pride, "Guess what? I'm going to Hogwarts."

**{-==-}**

**Coming Soon**

**Chapter 5**

**A Wizard Named ****Dudley******


	5. Chapter 5 A Wizard Named Dudley

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 5**

**A Wizard Named ****Dudley******

Harry's eyes went wide, Ron's jaw hit the floor, Hermione squeaked, but nobody spoke. The rest of the room remained completely silent.

Suddenly, the leg of Harry's pants began to tug at him and he finally diverted his eyes to see what was grabbing at him. It was Dobby.

"Harry Potter, sir?" said Dobby, "Is Harry Potter okay?"

"What?" Harry said in a daze. Then he snapped back to reality and said, "Oh yea, Dobby, I'm fine."

Everyone else seemed to come out of a daze just then, and everyone seemed to have the same question in mind.

"Blimey" came Ron's response, while Hermione added in awe, "Wow, a real life Slyder"

But it was the twins who said what Harry was thinking when they said in unison, "No way!" with George adding for good measure, "The legend of Harry Potter strikes again!" then both twins burst out with laughter.

After a few moments, Harry stepped towards Dumbledore and was about to speak, but Dumbledore spoke up first.

"Good afternoon everybody. It's very nice to see everyone. I understand Mrs. Weasley has a great feast in store for us today." He clapped his hands together as a broad smile crossed his face. He was making a rather large show of it, as though it were the opening feast at Hogwarts. Dumbledore sure could control an audience when he wanted.

"However, before we get started, Harry and I must speak for a few moments."

Harry just smiled softy as Dumbledore led him into the living room. As he left the kitchen he noticed that Professor McGonagall was bringing Dudley over to the kitchen table and to Harry's surprise, Dudley seemed genuinely happy to sit with her.

So once again Harry found himself sitting in the living room with Dumbledore, expecting yet another discussion which would change his life forever.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "I just wanted to thank you for informing me of the developments with Dudley. I'm sure it came as a shock to you to find that Dudley developing at such a late age, but you handled it quite well, and I am very proud of you."

"Thank you Professor," replied Harry, "but why is it now that he is doing magic? Shouldn't he have been doing magic for the past five years?"

"Well, typically that would be true. However, in this particular case, it appears that young Mr. Dursley here has become a Slyder."

"That's what Mrs. Figg said." Harry said quickly, "but what exactly is a Slyder?"

"Well, Harry, a Slyder is a Muggle whom, for some reason, has developed into a wizard or witch at an unusually late age. It is a very rare occurrence which is usually attributed to a traumatic experience involving magic. In this case, for example, it most likely happened last summer when he was attacked by the Dementor."

"Right. Mrs. Figg mentioned something about that on Saturday."

"Very true. And when someone comes that close to being kissed by a Dementor, it can have some unusual side effects. In this case, it brought Dudley's potential for magic to the surface."

"So now he's a wizard?" asked Harry an octave higher than he wanted.

"Indeed. Often there is a possibility of losing this ability to use magic within a few days, but as young Mr. Dursley is still able to use magic makes it likely that he will continue to live as a wizard for the rest of his life."

"Oh," was all Harry could think to say in reply.

"Now Harry, I know that you already have quite a bit on your schedule, but I would ask that you help your cousin develop his magic by giving him some basic lessons with Professor McGonagall here at the house."

"Okay," Harry said tentatively. "So, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are okay with Dudley being a wizard?" he asked. Professor Dumbledore seemed to look uncomfortable for a moment, but quickly composed himself.

"Well, Harry," He began with a sigh, "I can't say I am happy with what happened, but it was unfortunately necessary in order to protect you. You see, Harry, your Aunt and Uncle were not as willing to accept your cousin's newfound abilities as I had hoped. With you as an introduction to our world, I had hoped they would be more comfortable with young Dudley being a wizard as well."

Harry bit his tongue at this remark. Dumbledore's gaze drew back up to Harry, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"As it turns out, even with Professor McGonagall's assistance I was unable to convince them to even consider allowing their son to attend Hogwarts, and their response was not limited to speaking of their unhappiness. Needless to say, things were not going as I had hoped, but it was nothing we were worried about. However, they eventually suggested something that we had not at all expected."

Dumbledore seemed to be losing all the energy in his body, as though surrounded by a hundred Dementors. Harry began to fidget uncontrollably. He was not used to seeing Dumbledore looking so distraught.

"They became more vocal," he continued, "and they began making threats of telling others that of your being a wizard and had refused to allow you to return home. Furthermore, they began to develop a strong distaste for their son. Then they began to making some suggestions which included telling Voldemort where you were in exchange for his returning their son to his previous self."

Harry's heart was racing. They were going to tell everyone he was a wizard. They were going to try to turn him over to Voldemort. But Harry wasn't able to panic for long, as Dumbledore interrupted his thoughts as he continued.

"Of course, at this point there was little we could do to convince them that this was not a practical choice, so we were forced to take some rather unfortunate but necessary measures."

Harry's eyes went wide. What had happened to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon? Dumbledore must have seen his expression, because he answered him immediately.

"Not to worry, Harry. We did not harm your Aunt and Uncle. We did however have to ensure that things were kept in control. So, to protect both you and your cousin, we were forced to alter your Aunt and Uncle's memories. We cleaned up the things that they had broken and began again. This time the Dursleys were told that their son has been offered a grant to go to an upscale boarding school outside of London. Of course, we would not normally do this, but we couldn't allow for the chance that they might do as they said, and as Dudley is only a year from being of age, in addition to his being your cousin, the Minister has allowed us a bit of leniency."

"So they don't remember anything," Harry said, astounded. "They have no idea that Dudley is a wizard or anything?"

"That is correct. It is not something I'm proud to have done. Everyone has a right to their own opinions, no matter what they may be. That is of course what makes us all individuals. Unfortunately, we were given no alternatives."

Harry nodded slowly. He may not have liked his Aunt and Uncle very much, but no matter how they felt about his being a wizard, they were at the very least entitled to their opinions. Then something occurred to Harry.

"So, did you wipe Dudley's memory too?" he asked. "Is that why he was so happy to go to Hogwarts?"

"Actually, no. He had agreed to go to Hogwarts before we approached his parents, and it was he who had warned us that extra precautions might be necessary. We had spoken to him at length, and it was he who suggested the idea of his going to another school. We had prepared him in advance about what we might have to do, but he was still a bit upset about it. Luckily, Professor McGonagall is quite adept at calming those who are upset, and she was able to relax him as I spoke to his parents again."

"So Dudley knows what happened to his Mum and Dad. I'm surprised he's not miffed at me for it."

"Harry," Dumbledore said in a disappointed voice, "I would hope you would think better of your cousin. He truly is a remarkable young man. Many Slyders take months or even years to come to terms with gaining magical abilities at such a late age. Mr. Dursley has coped quite well with it, especially considering the views of his parents. They were not very flattering towards him when they found out he was a wizard. Even though they no longer remember, he does, and he has still chosen to proceed to Hogwarts. At the very least he deserves a good deal of respect for that."

"Yeah," Harry agreed halfheartedly, "I guess he does."

"So I take it you will help your cousin adjust to his newfound abilities?"

"Yes sir. Just don't ask me to enjoy it too much," Harry said with a half smirk.

"Indeed. But don't be too surprised if your helping him leads to friendship. I believe you may come to find you have more in common with your cousin than you might think. I would not be surprised to see you and him friends by the end of school this year." Dumbledore's smile had returned, and Harry did not think it wise to disagree with him just now.

Instead, he smiled back at his headmaster and said, "Maybe, but I wouldn't expect us to be best buds. I don't think Ron would approve of being replaced by Dudley."

Dumbledore actually gave a light laugh, and that was the moment Remus chose to come in.

"Not telling jokes at my expense, I hope?" he said warmly.

"Well, not anymore," replied Harry smartly. They both shared a laugh, and Dumbledore rose to his feet.

As Harry stood and headed for the kitchen with Dumbledore and Remus, he said seriously, "Don't worry Professor, I'll watch out for him."

Dumbledore simply nodded back, and then they headed into the kitchen.

Ron and Hermione were to their feet before Harry could say a word. They both began to ask questions, but Harry put up his hand to stop them before they could get going. They would have plenty of time to talk, but right now he had to deal with Dudley.

"Look. I want to talk to you both, but I have to take care of some stuff with Dudley."

"But what's going on?" Ron blurted out.

"Don't worry," Harry assured him. "I'll talk to you guys in a few minutes."

Harry looked around and found Dudley, who had the biggest smile on his face of any time Harry had seen before.

"Harry," Called Dudley. He jumped up and headed over to Harry, punching him softly in the shoulder, hopping around as though he were a boxer, then stopped and chuckled at himself. "So, is everything okay? Did the Professor tell you what happened at home?"

"Yeah. Said your Mum and Dad weren't too happy with the idea of you going to Hogwarts. He said that they were told that you were going to some other school up in London." Dudley dropped his head.

"Yeah. They were furious. They were throwing things all over the place, yelling and screaming, saying stuff even I won't say." Harry saw a mischievous sparkle in Dudley's eyes that sent chills through his spine.

"So then they start talking about telling that Voldemort gent about where you were and all." There was a group gasp at Voldemort's name, but Dudley didn't seem to catch it, as he continued on, "and then they said they were going to kick you out of the house and have the magic taken out of me. Dumbledore said that there was no way for that to be done, but they just kept going on, throwing everything about. It was a real disaster."

"I'll bet. I'd hate to see how miffed Uncle Vernon was when he found out you were a wizard." Harry had been on the receiving end of his Uncle's anger, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

"So then, that tall fellow, Dumbledore, he took one of those wands from his robe and waved it. Next thing I know, Mum and Dad are stiff as boards. Then he and Mrs. McGonagall start waving their wands and everything just gets up and starts moving back to where it was before, fixing themselves and everything. In thirty seconds the place looked good as new. It was bloody brilliant." Dudley looked thoroughly amused by the idea of wizards using magic. It was very disturbing to Harry to see his _normal_ cousin enjoying magic so much.

"So then he tapped Mum and Dad on the head with his wand," Dudley continued, "and they woke up a couple of seconds later, good as new, forgetting everything that happened. That's when Professor McGonagall told them that I'd be going to that school up in London. She was really incredible. Never in my life have I seen someone control Mum and Dad the way she did."

"Yes, well, I would have much rather been able to tell them the truth." It was Professor McGonagall who was speaking up for the first time since saying hello. "However, as that didn't seem to work the first time, it was not likely they would be any more receptive the second time."

She, as Dumbledore had earlier, seemed very distraught with having to alter their memories, but she seemed to be effected even more. This was probably because she rarely showed any form of emotion outside of frustration or anger, but that didn't stop Harry's mood from dropping as she spoke of the events at Privet Drive.

"I'm sorry, Professor," he said genuinely. "I probably should have warned you about that. My Aunt and Uncle can be a bit strong willed when it comes to magic."

"Apparently. However, you needn't concern yourself with it now, Harry. What's done is done, and we have too many things to be thankful for."

"Indeed," Remus called out. "Too much talking about things we cannot change. Besides, I think it's about time young Dudley here took his first lesson in Care of Magical Creatures."

"My what?" Dudley showed the first signs of the fear of magic Harry had grown accustomed to.

"Your Care of Magical Creatures Lesson. You see, now that you're going to Hogwarts, you are going to be learning a lot about magical creatures you never before imagined. For instance, we have our little friend here, Dobby."

"Yes, Mr. Lupin, sir?" came Dobby's voice from below the table. Dudley's eyes went wide.

"Dobby, this is Dudley. Dudley, this is Dobby. Dobby is a house-elf."

Dobby turned and looked over at Dudley, smiled, and proudly walked over and bowed.

"I is Dobby, sir. And you is Harry Potter's cousin Dudley. It is a pleasure to meet you sir." Dobby was rocking back and forth on his heels as he spoke.

Dudley looked alarmed for a few moments, so finally Harry came around the table and stood next to Dudley.

"It's alright Dudley. He's a good friend of mine. Dobby's the one who dropped the pudding on your Dad's friend a few years ago."

That had done it. Dudley's face turned from that of fright to one of absolute delight.  
  
"That was you? Blimey. That was incredible. How did you do it?"

"Dobby was having to do it. Dobby had to stop Harry Potter from going back to…"

"That's okay, Dobby," Harry interrupted. "I think it might be better if we don't bring that back up again."

"Oh, of course, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is sorry. Dobby should not have brought that up. Dobby is a bad house-elf."

Dobby walked over to the wall and began to bang his head against it. He made it to four hits before Harry caught up to him and pulled him away from the wall. Harry was about to chastise him for it when a loud noise came from behind him. It was the roar of laughter.

Dudley was bent over, laughing hysterically. _Now that's the __Dudley__ I know,_ thought Harry. _Laughing at someone else's misery_. He shook his head and looked back to Dobby.

"Now Dobby. What have I said about doing that? No punishing yourself for making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. Just try not to do it again, that's all I ask."

"Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is trying. Dobby is only punishing himself for…"  
  
"Dobby, you are not to punish yourself. Okay? No more punishing yourself." Harry tried to do his best Dumbledore impression, hoping Dobby would not argue. It must have been a decent impression as Dobby did not reply. "Thank you, Dobby. Now, I thought I heard something about lunch? What are you and Mrs. Weasley making for us today?"

Dobby perked up immediately. "Oh, Harry Potter, sir. It is Mrs. Molly Weasley who is making lunch today. Dobby is only helping her by doing the dishes, fixing up the table, making desert, cooking the bread, and making fresh pumpkin juice."

"Oh, is that it?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Oh, Dobby is also cleaning the upstairs bedroom for Harry Potter's friends and feeding the Hippogriff and…" Again, Dobby was interrupted, but this time it was not Harry who interrupted him, but Dudley.

"Excuse me, but you were feeding a what?"

"A Hippogriff," replied Harry.

"It's a little bunny with wings, real cute buggers," came George's voice.

"Yea, want to come upstairs and see?" added Fred.

Harry turned to see the twins talking to Dudley. They had probably been doing so since he'd started talking to Dobby.

"Oh no you don't," Harry said, half annoyed, half amused. "You know I'm up for a good joke, but that's going just a bit too far."

Dudley's eyes flew open again. "That's where I recognize you guys from. You're the ones who came over to the house through the fireplace a couple years ago. You're the ones who gave me that stuff that made my tongue grow."

"Ton-Tongue Toffee." said George.

"One of our best sellers," added Fred. "George and I own a joke shop in Diagon Alley. We sell all kinds of magic candies and trick snacks. And as a friend of Harry's, you'll get an extra twenty percent discount."

Harry's head swung to Fred, eyes wide. _What the heck does he think he's doing? _Harry thought. _The last thing I need is for Mrs. Weasley to be mad at me for giving you guys the money to start the joke shop. _ But a moment later his worries were put to rest as Fred smiled knowingly over at Harry before continuing.

"We give a big discount to all of our friends, but since we go back two years, and as you are related to the great Harry Potter, I think we can extend that discount to you as well."

Harry's heart began to beat again, making up for lost time by pounding so hard it felt as though it would burst from his chest.

"Anyway," He said, trying to change the subject, "Buckbeak, that's the Hippogriff's name, is basically what you would get if you took the head of an eagle and put it on the body of a horse."

"A what with a what?" Dudley's eyes bulged out his head as though they might fall out at any moment.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to him." He turned his attention to Mrs. Weasley and asked, "Mrs. Weasley, do you think I might be able to bring Dudley up to see Buckbeak before lunch?"

"Oh, of course dear," she said lovingly. "Lunch won't be ready for another ten minutes. Just be sure you wash your hands before you come to eat, alright?"

"Yes Ma'am," he replied politely before returning his gaze to Dudley. "Come on, we haven't much time. If you're lucky, he might even let you pet him." Dudley just smiled back weakly.

Everyone followed Harry upstairs to the attic. Dudley was truly impressed by the size of Buckbeak. After a few minutes Dudley actually got up enough courage to approach Buckbeak and spent a few moments petting him before they left.

Everyone cleaned up and entered the kitchen, but Harry was not going to get to eat, at least not yet. Just as he walked into the kitchen, he was pinned down by Ron and Hermione who grabbed him and sped him back into the hallway. Ron was first to speak.

"Blimey, Harry," he began. "We've been gone from school for only a week and you're already getting into something."

"RON!" Hermione looked thoroughly put out by Ron. Harry smiled.

"Sorry Harry," Ron continued, "but really. I can't believe it. You got your cousin using magic, you've got permission to use magic outside school, and now you got us all training to become Animaguses."

"It's Animagi," Hermione corrected.

"Sure. Anyways, what I want to know is how you got us permission too. It's darn near impossible to get permission to become an Animagus at any time, but when You-Know-Who was in power last time, they suspended any Animagus training until he was caught."

"Well, to tell you the truth, it wasn't my idea. It was Dumbledore's. He was the one who suggested that you should learn to be Animagi too. He said that if you were going to get into the same trouble as me, you might as well learn to have the same advantages as well."

"Good Lord," said Hermione. "You know, I don't think Hogwarts has had three official Animagi graduate from school in about two centuries, and that was the Tiafoly Triplets. Three French poodles, wouldn't you know."

"Geese, Hermione. Can't you stop thinking about school for one minute?"

Harry saw that Hermione had flushed a bit, but Ron didn't seem to have noticed.

"The problem I've got now is dealing with Dudley." Harry continued. "I'll tell you, I had thought I'd seen everything, but Dudley the wizard, that's got to beat them all."

"I know. It's bloody weird if you ask me." Ron shook his head, repeating softy, "Bloody weird."

"Harry, Dumbledore said that you were going to teach Dudley how to use magic. Do you think…"

"Don't worry Hermione," Ron interrupted, "I'm sure Harry will let you teach him the boring stuff like History of Magic and Potions."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I was going to ask what house Harry thought that Dudley was going to be sorted into, but now that you mention it, would it be okay if I helped him a bit? It would be like home study."

"Sure Hermione. You got it. Just remember, you asked for it. Personally, the only class I want to teach him is Defence against the Dark Arts."

"Oh yeah. Can I help? Now that would be fun."

Ron and Hermione began to argue over how Ron could help Harry with teaching Dudley, but Harry's attention span had stopped on what Hermione had said earlier. What house would Dudley be sorted into. Harry was sure he knew the answer to that, and it scared the living daylights out of him. Slytherin. There was no doubt about it, Dudley would be a Slytherin. And that would mean that he'd likely become a lackey for Malfoy. The thought provoked an anger in him that burned hard and fast.

"Bloody hell!" Harry shouted suddenly, slamming his fist into the wall. The wall dented in for a moment, then bounced back. Both Hermione and Ron had jumped back a good three feet.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked.

"Harry, are you okay?" added Hermione.

"Yea," he replied. "I'm fine, with the exception of my hand." He lifted it up to his chest, his hand throbbing sore from the impact. Just then, Remus walked through the door.

"Everything okay here Harry?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Sorry, but… It's just… Well, I just thought of something."

"What's up Harry?" Remus asked softly.

"Well, Hermione just mentioned something and, well. Dudley's going to be a Slytherin. I just know it. And then we're going to have to deal with Malfoy and Dudley. It's been bad enough dealing with one or the other. But how the heck am I supposed to deal with both of them at the same time?"

"Well, the only thing I can suggest, Harry, is that you work with him as much as possible and hope that he makes the right decisions. You never know. By the end of the year, you two might become friends."

"You know, you're the second person to say that to me in the past hour. Personally, I think you're both bonkers, but what other choice do I have? Besides, don't we start on memory charms this year?" A wicked smile crossed both Harry's and Ron's faces, while Remus and Hermione shared quite the opposite looks.

"Now Harry," Remus started to say.

"Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't do it for real. Or at the very least, I wouldn't get caught. Only Joking," he added before Remus could interject.

"Right. Besides, as bad as Dudley is, I'd rather wipe Malfoy's memory any day," Ron added. Hermione opened her mouth to interject, but then stopped, a small smirk crossing her face.

"Well, if you are all done plotting, I believe it's about time for you three to get in there and grab something to eat."

He didn't have to tell Harry twice. He headed into the kitchen like a man on a mission, sat down, and filled his face full of food so quickly it was nearly four minutes before he said another word, and to Ron's surprise, he started to talk to Dudley.

"So, Dudley. Do you want to work on some basic spells after lunch?"

"Sure," he replied as nonchalantly as he could, which wasn't saying much. "That'd be cool."

"Alright. Ron, do you think you would be willing to help me out?"

"Of course he'll help you, Harry," Hermione said before Ron could answer. "We'll both help you. It'll be just like the DA lessons back at school."

"Right," Harry said with a quick nod. Then something occurred to him and he took a quick look around the room. "Speaking of the DA, where did Dumbledore go?"

"Oh, he had to go take care of some Hogwarts business in order to enroll your cousin here." Remus patted Dudley's shoulder as he mentioned his name. "He'll only be gone a few minutes."

"Oh," Harry replied. "Okay. Cool." He took another bite from his sandwich before asking Hermione, "So how long are you going to be able to stick around for?"

"Well, Mum and Dad are going to some place called Las Vegas and said that it wasn't a great place for kids, so they said I can stay here until Thursday. Then, starting next week, they said I can come over Thursday nights and stay till Friday when you go home."

"Cool. How about you, Ron?"

"Well, as long as I keep up my chores and have my homework done on time, Mum said I can come over as much as I want."

"And as long as you do not leave this house without an adult. I don't want you wandering around without adult supervision. And I know I can't tell you what to do Harry, but I know I would feel much better about your safety if you didn't go out alone either. Not even to Diagon Alley. You can never be too safe."

"Oh, Molly," came Remus's voice. "Let the boy live a little. He knows he needs to be careful, and I doubt that he would just walk out of the house without an adult, but the boy should be able to go to Diagon Alley without any problems, especially with all of the extra Aurors out there since the floating Muggle incident last Saturday."

"Remus. You know as well as I do how dangerous it can be out there for the boys. He's not even sixteen yet."

"Yea, but really Mum, It's like Professor Lupin says." It was George.

"Really Mum," added Fred. "They have loads of Aurors and magical enforcement officers all over the place. If any Death Eaters showed up now, they'd be captured or worse before they could even pull out their wand. And besides, most of the shops have dozens of Dark Magic detectors and anti magic spells going at all times. Trust me. There is no way any Death Eater is going to do any more attacks in Diagon Alley."

"Yes, well you'll pardon me if I'm not wholly convinced of Harry's safety. Not that you can't take care of yourself, Harry. It's just that you're only fifteen years old and you've been attacked by Voldemort more times…"  
  
"Molly. I don't think Harry needs to be reminded any more of where he stands with Voldemort. And frankly, I don't think we need to be talking about this any more. Harry is old enough to start making his own decisions, and when it comes down to it, he's done well enough so far, and I am confident that he can handle himself just fine now. However. That goes only as far as Harry is concerned. Ron, Ginny, Hermione; you will have to talk to your own parents about that. But not now. I believe young Dudley here is a little anxious to get to the learning."

"Indeed," said Professor McGonagall. "However. Before Mr. Potter begins teaching you any magic, I would like to spend some time with Mr. Dursley, teaching him some of the more basic techniques that he will need in order to learn Magic. And before we can do that, we need to get him some supplies. Now, Professor Dumbledore has offered to help you pay for your…"

"Professor. I think I can help him pay for his stuff," Harry volunteered. Then his eyes went big as he realized what he had said. He couldn't believe he had just offered to help Dudley go to Hogwarts.

_Why am I so anxious to help __Dudley__ out?_ he asked himself._ All He's ever done is tick me off. Now I'm going to pay for his stuff at Hogwarts?_ He was beside himself. He felt the frustration and annoyance build inside him, but as he turned his gaze at Dudley, all the anger and frustration faded away. Dudley was looking at him with the same confusion that Harry had felt, and Harry realized in that moment that he could leave Dudley alone on this.

Maybe it was because Harry felt responsible for Dudley's changes since the Dementors were coming for him when they attacked Dudley, or maybe he just couldn't let anyone suffer when he could stop it, but Harry knew in his heart that there was no way he could abandon his cousin at a time like this.

"That's very generous of you Harry," came Dumbledore's voice. Harry snapped his head back to Dumbledore with a blank look on his face. He was greeted with a smile, and he felt himself being revitalized, as though coming out of a dream.

"Uh, yes sir. It's not a problem sir. After all, he's family," he said with a weak smile. There was something about Dumbledore saying this that added the extra boost of energy Harry needed. Suddenly, everything became clear, and he knew he had made the right choice. Before he knew it, his smile had taken on a life of its own and he felt truly happy.

"Remus, do you think it would be okay for us to take Dudley over to Diagon Alley tomorrow? We could get him his own wand, some school supplies, things like that." By the time he had finished asking, he had a bit of excitement in his voice. It was really odd, but he went with it.

"Sure Harry," he replied happily. "It would be nice to get out of the house for a bit. We could make a day of it."

"Yeah. Do you guys want to come along too?" he asked Hermione and Ron.

"Mum?" asked Ron.

"As long as you go with Remus and don't wander off to far, I don't see why not."

"And you Hermione?"

"I'd love to," answered Hermione. "I'd be great to get a first look at next year's books. "

"Speaking of next year's books." It was Professor McGonagall. She put her hands into her pockets and pulled out several envelopes. "We usually don't give these out for another month, but seeing as how we have all of you here." She began to hand them out one at a time, starting with Ron and Ginny, then Hermione and Harry, and finally Dudley. Oddly enough, she still had two letters left which she handed to Fred and George. "And here are the letters you two requested," she said simply.

"Hey George," said Fred. "Do you know what these are for?"

"Why no, Fred, I don't remember asking for a Hogwarts letter, do you?"

"I don't think so."

"What are you two going on about," asked Ron.

"Well, I do remember saying something to Dumbledore about going back to Hogwarts to take our N.E.W.T.s when we heard he'd come back as headmaster."

"You know, I think I remember that too. So, I guess we'll be joining you all back for one more year at Hog…"

Mrs. Weasley had interrupted them as she charged towards the twins and wrapped them up into a huge double hug, tears flowing freely down her face. "Oh boys," she called out.

"Mum," the twins moaned in unison, though they looked very happy with their mother's reaction.

"Oh, my boys. I knew you two were smart enough to finish school."

"Oh, yea," said George. "That's a good idea. We could go to classes in between testing our treats."

"Right. I mean, what else are we going to do." Fred's smile turned into a mischievous smirk, and Harry had no doubt they could find other things to occupy their times, but he was also sure that at least on some level they were doing it as much for Mrs. Weasley as they were for themselves.

"And in the meantime, we can show you all around the shop when you come out tomorrow."

"Right. And fifty percent off for all family and friends."

"Okay, so how do we get Dudley over here during the week?"

"That has already been taken care of," came Dumbledore's voice. "His parents have been told that he will be involved in an alternate school program which will help him to prepare for his new school. After all, he will be receiving lessons from Mr. Potter and Professor McGonagall."

"Well all right then," said Harry.

"Also, Harry, I would like to make a few minor adjustments to the basement, if you don't mind. Since you will be teaching Mr. Dursley here a great deal of different spells, I thought it might be prudent to turn the basement into a sort of classroom with the required supplies you would need."

"Sure. Sounds fine to me, sir."

"Marvelous. Also, Harry, there is one other person I would like to invite to these private classes, if it's alright with you. He is most anxious to complete his training so he too can become a registered wizard, the same as these two gentlemen." He nodded towards the twins.

"Of course, sir. Can I ask who it is?"

Dumbledore smiled broadly at him, then noticed the sparkle in Hermione's eyes and answered, "I believe Mrs. Granger might be able to answer that for you."

"You're joking!" she cried out loudly. Everyone took a step back at this outburst, but she didn't seem to notice. "He didn't. But what about the Ministry?"

"That has all been cleared up for some time now," Dumbledore replied, "but he hasn't quite been ready until recently. Now, with Voldemort's return, he has decided it was time to put away his pride and complete his schooling."

"Wait a minute. You're not talking about…" Harry trailed off, his eyes getting ever wider, a smile growing full on his face.

"Who are we talking about?" asked Ron.

"Hagrid," cried Hermione. "Hagrid's going to finish out his lessons at Hogwarts. Oh, I can't believe it. I'm so proud of him. He's so brave."

"Brave?" Ron asked. "For going to school? Nuts is more like it."

"Oh, Ron. You just don't you get it, do you? Hagrid gets teased all the time by kids at school, and it'll be twice as bad now that he's going to be a Hogwarts student as well."

"Oh. Well, I guess. Hey, if it makes Hagrid happy, then so be it."

"Well, as long as he has your blessing," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Are they going out or something?" Dudley whispered into Harry's ear.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you," Harry replied. Then he looked back to Dumbledore and said, "Well, you can tell Hagrid for me that he's always welcome here. But just out of curiosity, is he still going to be running the Care of Magical Creatures class?"

"Actually, Professor Grubbly-Plank will be taking over for Hagrid," Dumbledore replied. "He enjoyed teaching, but between his duties as groundskeeper and his studies, he does not believe he will be able to put enough attention to the students.

"Oh. Well, if that's what he wants," said Hermione, trying to hide the glee she was feeling for having a proper Care of Magical Creatures Professor again.

"Well, I believe that all we have left is to prepare the basement. Professor McGonagall and I can take care of it if you would like to go pick up your supplies from Diagon Alley."

"Yes," said Harry. "We could pick up all of our school supplies while we're there, and the twins can show us their store."

Mrs. Weasley gave a slight grunt, but said politely, "I suppose I could take you all there for the afternoon."

"I can tag along too," said Remus. "I have a few things I could pick up."

"Okay," said Ron. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get moving."

They all got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen. As they did, Harry heard Dumbledore ask Mrs. Weasley to stay back with him for a moment, but he was so excited with going to Diagon Alley that he didn't stay to find out what they were talking about.

Everyone returned to the kitchen a few minutes later with a handful of coins, all except Harry and Dudley, who were going to go to Gringotts to get some money there. Harry also figured that this would be a good way of introducing Dudley to the vast wizarding world as quickly as possible.

By the time everyone had arrived Dumbledore had a full fire roaring in the fireplace. Harry pulled Dudley to one side and told him where they were going.

"We are going to a place called the Leaky Cauldron. You just step into the fire and…"

"I know," Dudley interrupted in a soft tone and smile. "I step in, drop the powder, and say Leaky Cauldron."

"Right. Okay, do you want to go first?"

"Actually, I think it would be best if I go first," said Remus. "That way I can let Tom know that we have a big party coming in. He gets a bit jumpy nowadays when too many people come through at one time."

"Right," Replied Harry.

Remus stepped into the fireplace, dropped the Floo powder, and was gone. George stepped quickly in behind him, and soon he was gone as well. In no time at all, it was just Harry, Dudley, and Mrs. Weasley.

"So, do you want to go next?" he asked.

"Sure," Dudley replied nervously. Dudley stepped into the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder from a bowl Mrs. Weasley was holding out to him, dropped it, and was gone.

Harry stepped up, grabbed his own handful of Floo powder, called out, "The Leaky Cauldron," and felt the fire envelope him, and off he went.

Harry tumbled out of the fireplace at The Leaky Cauldron and quickly got to his feet. Everyone was there, and most of them were already talking amongst themselves. A moment later Mrs. Weasley popped out, brushed herself off, and headed towards her kids. Everyone gathered into a group and headed towards the back door.

Mrs. Weasley herded everyone into the back alley and tapped the wall. Soon the wall opened and everyone headed into Diagon Alley.

Everyone agreed to meet at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at four-thirty. Harry told Ron and Hermione that he would meet them at Flourish and Blotts after he went to Gringotts. They agreed and split off.

Harry, Dudley, and Remus headed down to Gringotts. As they walked down the street, Dudley continuously pointed at different things and asked Harry a dozen different questions. Of course, once they approached the front door of Gringotts, Dudley was completely struck by the goblin standing guard. They went inside and after checking in they were escorted to a small cart. They got in and headed down into caverns.

At first it seemed that Dudley might get sick, but by the time they reached Harry's vault Dudley had his hands in the air and he was screaming and laughing. They got out and went to the vault door where Harry gave the small goblin that accompanied them his key. When the door opened, Dudley let out a small squeak as he saw all of the gold galleons. Harry took a step back as well.

Sirius had told Harry in his will that he had given him what little money he had left, but Sirius must have had a very unique interpretation of the word little, as there appeared to be just over three times the amount of galleons as Harry had last seen in the vault. His jaw hit the floor. This was definitely some kind of inheritance. Harry grabbed his money bag, as well as his spare bag for Dudley, and headed back out.

A few minutes later they were stepping out of Gringotts and headed towards the shops. Before they were going to meet Hermione and Ron, Harry wanted to get the boring stuff out of the way. So they headed down to Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions. They came out twenty minutes later with two bags full of clothes for school.

Next, then went to Flourish and Blotts and met up with Ron and Hermione. They had already gotten their books, and even picked up a set for Harry. They had to get a few extras for Dudley, but many of the books he needed were in Harry's trunk.

They all headed out to pick up the rest of their supplies. They picked up some basic potion ingredients, a nice pewter cauldron, and some parchment and ink. Then they headed over to the Magical Menagerie where Dudley picked out a black cat named Midnite.

Finally, they went to Ollivanders where, after nearly a hundred different wands, Dudley was the proud owner of a ten inch willow wand with a dragon heartstring core. Again, as Dudley went through wands, Mr. Ollivander seemed to get happier and happier with each failure.

Then everyone went to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George met them at the front door.

"How did you know we where here?" asked Harry.

"Jimmy," answered George, pointing to the fifth floor balcony of the building across the street. There was a tall man in a black robe look down over the street, his wand at the ready. His gaze drifted over Harry and he nodded his head. "He's one of the Aurors watching over the streets. The moment you all arrived, every Auror has stepped up security."

"You'd have to be stupid to try anything with all the Aurors around here," added Ron. "Hermione and I have seen at least a dozen of them up on those ledges watching people walk around here. It's kinda spooky if you ask me."

"You know who else comes around here a lot?" asked George. "Moody. He's around here all the time on Dumbledore's orders. He's always keeping an eye out for Death Eaters, especially in Knockturn Alley."

"Really?" asked Harry. "Have there been any problems?"

"Not really, but that's the point, isn't it?" replied Fred. "They want to keep this area clear of problems, especially during the summer holidays."

"So," called George loudly, "Lets get into the shop and buy some treats."

They all laughed a bit and headed inside. The place was pretty empty, only half a dozen or so people looking about, one of which was Lee Jordan, a friend of the twins and the announcer for the Quidditch matches at Hogwarts. Currently he was behind the counter ringing up for a bag of candies for a young witch.

What really surprised Harry about the shop was the variety of things you could buy. Of course, there were plenty of candies and cakes to buy, but there were also a great deal of other types of fun items to choose from.

One wall was dedicated to unusual books like books which automatically opened to the last page read, books which said one thing, then changed when tickled in the seam. Others had hidden compartments and some even had pages that disappeared and reappeared, depending on what time of day it was. There were notebook pairs that would display whatever was written in the other notebook. There were the trick wands that Harry had seen two years ago, dozens of quick quills, and self correcting quills.

There were other things in the store that caught Harry's attention. There were bags that caused anything put in it to disappear, and other bags that spit things out at random times. One bag that Harry found truly amusing was one that transported items to another bag. That would allow him and Ron to exchange things while he was at home and he was at the Dursleys.

There were dozens of other tricks and treats there, and by the time Harry was ready to leave he had filled two bags with candy and presents for Dudley's Birthday. After all, it was only a few weeks away, and he was sure to have some fun with him. They all finished the day with some ice cream before they headed home. The twins stayed behind to clean up the shop and asked Harry to tell their Mum that they would be coming home this weekend.

They all arrived back at Grimmauld Place just after four, ate at four-thirty, and Dumbledore had taken Dudley home just after five. It was strange for Harry to see him go. For the first time in his life, he thought he might actually miss having Dudley around. He had actually been a halfway decent person and Harry was getting to like having him around.

Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall brought everyone down to see the basement. It reminded Harry of a cross between the Room of Requirement and the Great Hall back at Hogwarts. Harry was definitely impressed.

"In addition to the normal expansion spell we put on the basement," McGonagall began, "we have enchanted the room so that nobody would detect any magic done here. Dumbledore has also granted each of you permission to work on any spells so long as you do so inside this room."

Harry could hear Hermione gasp as she learned that she would be able to practice magic outside of school. Ron simply said, "Cool" in a soft voice

"As you can see, we have raised the height fifty feet so that you can give young Mr. Dursley some flying lessons, and we have provided all the necessary equipment so that you would be able to cover all the basic spells covered through first and second year. Also, we added a third extra large fireplace beneath the one in the living room so Hagrid may come here through his own fireplace back at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded, smiling. "It looks brilliant, all of it," he complimented. The fireplace really did look quite nice. It was roughly the same size as the ones in the Great Hall back at Hogwarts with a large, but then, the entire room looked quite like the Great Hall, so it was no surprise that the fireplace would match.

He should be along on Friday to say hello and then will continue meeting me here with Mr. Dursley throughout the week from nine to three. We are hoping that with the help of Miss Granger and yourself, we might be able to give them enough attention that they may integrate themselves into Hogwarts as painlessly as possible."

"Sounds great." Harry replied.

The basement really did look great. It had to be at least half the size of the great hall, with the ceiling enchanted in the same manner. There were spell books and potion ingredients on shelves all over the walls, and there was a tall cupboard where three broomsticks lay. Harry's first instinct was to grab his Firebolt and go flying. Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall both excused themselves say they both had to go home and Harry escorted them to the kitchen fireplace. Ron was allowed to stay for the night, but Ginny decided to go home with Mrs. Weasley, which left just Harry, Ron, Hermione and Remus.

They spent the rest of the night downstairs with Hermione looking at all of the books while Ron and Harry played toss on their brooms while Remus relaxed with Buckbeak on the pile of pillows in the corner. Harry had decided that this would be a much better place for Buckbeak to call home, so he moved Buckbeak's things downstairs and marked that corner off as Buckbeak's new home. He'd even let Hedwig loose so she could fly with Harry for a bit, and then come to a landing on one of the rafters.

At a little after eleven that night everyone began to get a bit tired from the day and headed upstairs for a good nights sleep. They each said goodnight and headed to their separate rooms. Remus had taken Sirius's room, Hermione had taken the room next to Harry's, and Ron had taken the room directly across the hall.

Harry changed into his night clothes and got into bed. He took a deep breath and thought about the past week. Just one week ago he was going to be spending yet another summer at the Dursleys with his Aunt, Uncle, and spoiled brat of a cousin Dudley, but now he was staying at Sirius's house with his two best friends and his new godfather, and was anticipating tomorrow when he would see his cousin again. He shook his head in disgust, but he couldn't help but smile at the same time.

He was so tired that he didn't want to do any training, but he forced himself to slow his breathing and count backwards from a hundred. He never made it past ninety five.

**{-==-}**

**Coming Soon**

**Chapter 6**

**Cleaning House**


	6. Chapter 6 Cleaning House

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 6

Cleaning house

Harry awoke Tuesday morning with a new resolve for life.  He had slept quite well and felt more rested than he had all summer. 

He quickly cleaned up and headed down to breakfast.  It was only then that he realised it was still dark outside.  He looked over at the wall clock and discovered it was only a quarter after five.   Harry chuckled at himself.

Dobby quickly appeared and offered to help Harry with breakfast, but Harry was content with a bowl of cereal and some orange juice.

As he was finishing up he thought of what he might want to do today.  He knew from moving Buckbeak's things downstairs that he needed to clean up the attic, so he thought he would start there.  It was still only a quarter to six, so he decided not to wake anyone and head up there himself.  However, as he went to the sink to clean his dishes he discovered that he was not the only one awake.

"Hello Harry," came Remus' voice.  Harry turned around to see his new godfather finishing up a cup of tea.

"Hello Remus.  Have a good night's sleep?" he asked.

"Indeed.  And you?" Remus asked in a concerned manner.

"Good," Harry replied quickly.  "I didn't even realise how early it was till I came down for a bite to eat."

"Ah.  I was wondering why you were up so early."

"Yeah.  Come to think of it, what are you doing up so early?" 

Remus bowed his head a bit.  "I haven't been sleeping much over the past month now.  I guess I'm just feeling my age is all.  Nothing to worry about."

Harry nodded in agreement, but he had a feeling there was more to it than Remus was letting on.  Harry was sure it couldn't be easy to realise that you were the only one left of the original gang still alive and well.  Remus had lost two of his best friends to Voldemort, and come to think of it, he'd lost Wormtail to Voldemort as well, sort of.  Harry felt like he needed to distract Remus with something to do, and maybe cheer him up a bit.

"Hey.  I was thinking about cleaning out the attic.  I wanted to get rid of all that junk that's cluttering it up.  Do you think you might want to give me a hand?"

"Absolutely.  You really shouldn't be working up there on your own anyway.  There are some boxes up there that are better left closed, if you know what I mean."  Remus looked over at Harry with the same kind of stare that Dumbledore would give him.

"Alright.  Well, let's get started then.  If we're lucky we can get a couple hours work in before everyone else gets up."  Remus merely nodded and followed Harry upstairs. 

When they got into the attic they quickly decided to sort the boxes into different groups. They moved everything around and had managed to organize everything in half an hour, leaving them with four neat piles when they were done.

The first was for anything distinctly marked as belonging to Narcissa Black, the second marked for to Sirius's mother.  The third and also the smallest pile was the one belonging to Sirius himself, and the fourth pile was an assortment of things that belonged to the house in general.

"So what do we do with that stuff?" Harry asked, pointing to the first two piles.

"Well, I think the best thing we can do is to hand it over to Arthur Weasley.  He can check things over for anything illegal and then turn whatever is okay over to Mrs. Malfoy.  In fact, I would suggest inviting Arthur and Moody over to have them take a quick look to make sure that everything is safe."

"Hey now, that doesn't sound very fun now does it?" came a voice behind them. 

It was Ron.  He was still in his bed clothes and was yawning, but he wore a smile all the same.

"So what is all this anyways?" he continued.

"Just cleaning out the attic and getting rid of whatever we can.  We were going to ask your Dad if he would be willing to come over and check some of this stuff out before we send it over to Mrs. Malfoy."

"Mrs. Malfoy?" Ron asked incredulously.  "Why would you want to give anything to the Malfoys?"

"Probably because it belongs to them," came Hermione's voice from the stairs.  Apparently she hadn't made it to the bathroom to clean up yet because her hair was still very bushy and unkempt.

"Right.  The last thing I need is for Malfoy to blame me for his problems because I have some of his Mum's stuff.  It's better to just get rid of it all anyways.  So, do you think your Dad might come over to check it out sometime?"

"Sure.  In fact, I'll go ask him right now.  He should just be finishing up breakfast.  If I use the Floo, I should just catch him before he heads to work."  And with that, he was off, running down the stairs two at a time.

Meanwhile, Hermione had made it all the way into the attic and started looking around.  "I could help out sorting everything if you need it," she offered.  She was obviously tired, but she seemed eager to help, so Harry invited her to help out with Sirius's things.  This was the one set of boxes that they knew were safe because they were all locked by Sirius himself.

"Why don't we bring Sirius's boxes downstairs and check them out in the living room.  We can leave this until Mr. Weasley and Moody are done with them." 

He walked over and grabbed a box.  Remus went over to pick one up as well, but it wouldn't budge.  He and Hermione tried picking up the boxes with no success. 

"Harry," Remus called after him.  "Do you think you can give me a hand with these?  It seems they only want to be moved by you."  Remus had a big smile as he looked down at the boxes.  "You know, I remember when we made this charm."

"Excuse me?  You made which charm?" Harry's face showed his confusion.

"Sirius and I combined a version of the Fidelius charm alongside the Alohamora spell to stop somebody from taking our things.  The only way to break the spell is for the person who is linked to the items to pick them up.  In this case, that appears to be you."

"But then how did you help me put the boxes over here?"

"I didn't.  Actually, I don't think either of us did.  They were already stacked right where they are."  Harry thought back for a moment and realised that other than moving one box down to avoid knocking it over, he hadn't touched any of Sirius's boxes either.

"Right.  So what do I do?" he asked.

"All you have to do is pick it up and hand it to one of us.  Giving it to us will break the charm."

"Right then.  Here you go."  He handed Remus the box he was holding and grabbed another.  Then he headed towards the stairs.

"Excuse me.  What am I, a Blast-Ended Skrewt?"  Hermione looked completely put out.

"What?" asked Harry, confused.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't help.  I am plenty capable of carrying a box…"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, "I didn't give you a box because you're still in your evening clothes.  I just figured that you would want to get changed first."

Hermione blushed so much that her crimson hair actually seemed to lose colour next to her cheeks.  She had obviously forgotten that she was still in her bed clothes.  She quickly turned and headed back downstairs.  And as Harry thought about it, he realised that she had been in her bed clothes in front of him and Ron many times before, but for some reason it seemed a bit weird for her to walk around like that now.

Harry looked up at Remus for guidance and caught him in a broad smile, and then he chuckled.  "Don't worry, Harry.  There's not a man alive who can figure them out, especially when they are as smart as our Hermione.  In fact, she kind of reminds me of Lily."  His eyes sparkled for just a moment and it made Harry smile too.

"So, let's get going," Remus said, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

They headed downstairs and placed the boxes on the table in the living room, then went upstairs for the rest.  There were a total of seven boxes, two of which were much smaller than the rest.  Just as they were sitting down to open the boxes, Ron came from the dining room with his Dad.

"Hello Harry," Mr. Weasley said merrily.  "I heard you had some things you wanted me to look at."

"Yes sir.  They're up in the attic."  Harry turned and looked at Remus and Hermione.  "I'll be back in a minute if you guys want to get started.  You too, if you want," he said to Ron.

"Right.  I'll just head up and change real quick and be right down to help."

"Thanks," Harry said, smiling.  "After you, sir," he said, addressing Mr. Weasley.

Harry and Mr. Weasley were gone for only a few moments and returned just as Ron had taken a seat on the couch next to Hermione.

"I'll see if Molly wants to come by tonight and we can work on the boxes after dinner.  Also, I'll see if I can get Moody to drop by before I get here to check for anything crawling around in there."

"Thank you Mr. Weasley.  I appreciate it."

"Not a problem Harry."  Mr. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder and smiled.  "Well, I wish I could stay but I have a load of work to do at the Ministry these days.  You all have a good day, alright?"  He smiled and waved at everyone and headed to the kitchen. 

Harry walked over to the couch and sat down next to Ron.  They each took a box and started opening.  Harry and Remus took the smallest ones, assuming these would be the ones with the most intimate and valuable items. 

They sifted through the boxes for over an hour.  Ron had found several books on transfiguration and poison antidotes while Hermione found some books on raising a teenaged wizard, writing resumes, and being a single parent.  Hermione was in tears within seconds of discovering these, and Harry had to choke back a few tears of his own.  He had never known Sirius was trying so hard to make sure he did the right things for his godson.  He quickly delved back into the box to escape the nagging feelings of regret.

They also found many pictures of Sirius and the rest of the gang including one picture of Harry's Mum and Dad at their wedding.  The picture showed them exchanging their wedding rings and kissing at the end, then turning back to the minister and started all over again.  This was quickly put on the fireplace mantle.

Most of the items in the boxes were things from Sirius's childhood, many of which were from his time at Hogwarts.  There were several school books, quills and parchments, letters from Lily, James, Remus and a ton of letters from Peter.  Harry wasn't sure why Sirius would have kept these.

However, the biggest prize for Harry was the picture of his father playing Quidditch.  It showed his father speeding towards his own goal, chasing a pair of Slytherin chasers.  They must not have seen him because they began to juggle the Quaffle between each other.  In a flash, Harry's Dad had stolen the Quaffle and had circled the goals and facing the Slytherin goals.

He ducked just as he began heading away from the Gryffindor goals as a Bludger flew overhead.  It was then that he noticed both of the seekers were chasing the snitch and the Gryffindor seeker was at least ten feet further away that the Slytherin Seeker. He must have been two hundred feet from the Slytherin goals.  With only moments to spare, he sped off towards the goals, flanked by both beaters.  The other Chasers were nowhere to be seen.

Another Bludger was seen heading towards James, but the beaters saw it coming.  One of them pulled up and headed out of view while the other readied his bat.  The first beater knocked it cleanly straight up where it momentarily disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later, soaring like bullet, heading straight for the Slytherin Keeper, who had obviously not seen it coming as it had hit him in the dead center of his chest.

With the goals unattended, James looked back at the seekers to find them mere inches from the snitch, while he was still a full hundred feet from the goals.  With no choice, he rocketed the ball halfway across the field and through the center goal just before the Slytherin seeker had caught the snitch. 

His father flew down to the center of the field as the Gryffindor team swarmed him.  Above them the scoreboard read; Slytherin, one hundred seventy points; Gryffindor, one hundred eighty points.  Though they had lost the snitch, they had still won the game, thanks to Harry's Dad.

Another box contained all of Sirius's school supplies including his cauldron, potion ingredients, robes and hats, and several parchments with new spells he and the gang had been working on.

Meanwhile, Harry had gone through his box and found some of the more personal effects.  Harry had found a pair of golden quills given to him by James and Lilly, accompanied with a birthday card.  Remus said this was given to Sirius on his birthday following their wedding.  And sure enough, just below the birthday card was the invitation to their wedding, followed by a baby picture of Harry, and Finally, a large crystal ball with a wolf and large black dog running about while a large stag stood next to a tiny rat who sat on a large boulder off to the side.

Remus had opened the cardboard box to find a small wooden chest which he called "Sirius's box of Love."  It was filled with romantic letters, pictures of dozens of different girls, and several small gifts that they had given him.  There were a couple of rings, a very nice blue and gold Medallion, some women's earrings, and buried on the bottom, three Valentine's day cards from Harry's Mum.  Harry noticed they were each dated, and the last one was dated during their sixth year.  He decided he'd rather not read these.

They continued to go through the boxes for the better part of three hours.  Dobby brought in some food for everyone around nine, which of course, prompted Dudley to arrive a few minutes later, accompanied by Professor McGonagall.  They stayed a few minutes so Dudley could have a spot of breakfast, then headed downstairs for some training.

When everyone else was finished with the boxes, they all decided to spend the rest of the day in the basement with Dudley.  They piled the boxes in a corner of the living room and headed downstairs while Harry took the two smaller boxes up to his room.  For some reason it didn't feel right for him to leave these two boxes unattended.  He put the wooden box on top of the dresser and put the other box in the bottom draw.

When he arrived in the basement a few minutes later, he found Professor McGonagall working with Dudley on some basic transfigurations.  Harry was surprised at how quickly Dudley was picking things up.  Harry chalked it up to having Professor McGonagall all to himself.

Harry didn't want to disturb Dudley's work, so he joined Ron and Hermione doing their homework   The nice thing about having the basement set up like a classroom was that he had access to everything needed to ensure that his homework was right the first time, every time.  It was also nice to be able to work on his homework without having to lock himself in his room.

They broke away at noon to have lunch before Harry decided he wanted to do some more house cleaning.  He was getting a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he looked at the furniture and pictures and decided he wanted to move some things around.  So he and Remus spent most of the afternoon cleaning the living room and moving the furniture into different places while Ron and Hermione continued their homework downstairs with Dudley.

At three, Harry and Remus joined everyone downstairs, bringing some snacks with them.  Professor McGonagall was packing up and heading for the fireplace just as they arrived.  She bid them farewell and was gone a few moments later.

Harry headed to Ron and suggested some Quidditch practice while Dudley watched.  They grabbed their brooms and had an hour long Quidditch practice while Hermione showed Dudley some picture albums of her and her parents in the States.

Harry had transfigured a teacup into a Quaffle and the saucer into a thirty foot goal.  Harry acted like a chaser and tried to put the Quaffle through the goal and Ron tried to block them.  Ron had done pretty well for about thirty minutes, but after a while Harry began to notice that Ron's concentration leaving him.  He kept glancing down at Hermione and Dudley.

Harry had to admit that it was a bit disturbing to see Hermione and Dudley working together, but then, he was doing the same thing with him just yesterday, so he couldn't blame her for that.  Besides, as far as Hermione was concerned, teaching a Muggle-born wizard would be more fun than a day at the Quidditch World Cup.

By the time they had finished practicing, Ron was missing more shots than he was catching.

"Come on, Ron" shouted Harry.  "Don't make me call Angelina Johnson over here to snap you into shape."

That had caught Ron's attention.  Angelina was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and was nearly as bad as her predecessor Oliver Wood.  Ron had truly gone through the ringer last year, having been taunted by the Slytherin team all year long.  It was only during the final game of the season against Slytherin that Ron had come into his own on the field.  Ironically, neither Harry nor the Twins had been able to contribute to that game as they had been booted from the team by Professor Umbridge earlier in the year.

As they headed towards the ground, however, Harry did not notice that Hermione and Dudley were very close together.  That is, until Ron opened his big mouth.

"Whatcha reading?"  He had said it so loudly it actually echoed through the room.

"We're looking at some pictures of America.  They have some very interesting places there you know.  For instance, three weeks ago Mum and Dad took me to see the Grand Canyon.  Muggle Americans consider it one of the worlds' greatest natural wonders.  But as it turns out, if you go to the bottom of the canyon head to the northern point, there's a wizard's shop that tells of what really happened.  It was really incredible.  You see…"

"Oh, come off it Hermione.  Can't you escape school for one minute?"

"Oh.  But you two can fly around on those bleeding brooms throwing Quaffles at each other all the time but I can't have a civilized conversation with someone?"  Hermione's temper was flaring very quickly and Harry knew he had to do something quick.

"Hey.  I was thinking about turning the drawing-room into a games room and Library and was wondering you could help me out a bit."

"As long as Miss Brainy over there leaves enough room in the library for some games."

"At least I'm doing something productive.  All you ever do is play Exploding Snaps and that barbaric chess game…"

"Do they ever stop fighting?" asked Dudley.  He had gotten up and come over to Harry, watching Ron and Hermione continuing to fight like cats and dogs.

"Sure.  But then they wake up, and it starts all over again."  They laughed together for a few moments, then joined Remus who was lying down next to Buckbeak.

"How's it going, boys." Remus asked.

"Not bad, except for those two."  Harry nodded towards Hermione and Ron who were now just inches away from each other, yelling at the top of their lungs.

"They remind me of Mum and Dad," added Dudley.

"I don't remember Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon ever arguing like that."

"You wouldn't.  You're like medicine for them.  Whenever you're around, they are more worried about people finding out about you than they are about anything else, so they always take it out on you instead.  But ever since your second year at Hogwarts they've been getting worse and worse.  I didn't even stay home for the Christmas Holidays.  I came home for two days, that was all I could take.  Didn't even grab my presents.  Just up and left during one of their arguments and went back to school.  They tried to make it up to me later, sent me all my gifts and stuff, but really, it's getting really old now."

"That's the way those two are.  They were fine most of our second and third years, but then during fourth year, everything went nuts.  Now they argue more than me and Malfoy."

"Who's Malfoy?"  Harry's face dropped.  _Great,_ Harry thought, _just what I always wanted to do.  Get Dudley interested in who Malfoy is._ 

"Draco Malfoy," Harry said.  Maybe he could deter Dudley now and avoid some problems later.  "He's a kid at school who's a bigger pain in my bum than you are.  His Dad is in league with Voldemort, and Malfoy is likely to follow in his Dad's footsteps.  I wouldn't doubt if he tried to pick on you just because you were my cousin.  Plus, you're a Slyder, which means you're also a Muggle-born, or as Malfoy would say, a Mudblood.  And by the way, I wouldn't use that word in public much if I were you."

"What, Muggle?  But I've heard you say that all the time."

"No, I mead Mudblood.  It's a really bad name, worse than anything you can think of.  People in the wizarding world that use that word are the same kind that would be likely to run in the same group as Malfoy, and trust me, you don't want to go there."

"Well, enough talk about Malfoy," Remus interjected.  "I thought I heard you saying something about going upstairs to clean out the drawing room?  Is there anything I can do to help?"

And off they went.  Ron and Hermione joined them half an hour later and they worked on organizing and cleaning the drawing room until six, when Dobby finally came and announced dinner.  After they finished, Dudley went home and Hermione headed upstairs to her room to do some more studying for some paper she was writing for Arithmancy.  Harry, Ron, and Remus headed back to the drawing room to finish cleaning up.  Around ten, Harry bid everyone a good night and headed for his room.

He wasn't really tired, but he had one thought that had been nagging him ever since Dudley went home.  Just as Dudley had left, he had asked if Harry could help him work on flying on the broom.  Harry agreed only to remember a moment later that he would be unavailable.  Today was Tuesday, which meant that tomorrow, Wednesday, was the day Snape was coming over, and there was no way Harry was going to be unprepared for his lessons.

Harry headed to his room and changed for bed.  He was going to make sure to practice his lessons for at least an hour tonight, making sure to cover everything he had learned in his Occlumency lessons over the past year.  However, before he got started, he looked over at the dresser and saw the wooden box.  He picked it up and laid it on the bed. 

He opened the box and began sifting through the Sirius's effects.  He wanted to have something of his that would remind him of Sirius for his Occlumency lessons with Snape.  He figured that if he had to concentrate on something when Snape was pissing him off, it might as well be something close to him.

After going through everything, he had narrowed his choices down to a ring encasing a large black stone and the blue and gold medallion.  Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the medallion had been engraved with bird's head with two rich sapphires for eyes.  There was something familiar and comforting about it.  Whatever it was, it made him feel at ease holding it, and thus, his decision was made.

He put on the Medallion and headed for his bed.  He sat down on his bed and assumed the lotus position.

He grasped the Medallion in his right hand and tried to clear his mind.  Again he imagined the night sky with a hundred stars, but this time he wanted to make it to zero, counting more slowly as he approached his goal.  After ten minutes, he finally hit zero, and his mind was clear.  All he could see was a black sky.  He kept it this way for another ten minutes, trying his hardest not to let any thoughts or memories intrude.

Then, he imagined fifty stars in the sky, and again counted down, this time a bit faster, and he was done in less than five minutes.  Then he added twenty-five stars and repeated the process, then with fifteen, then with ten, and finally, five times he repeated the process with five stars, each time working a bit faster than the last.  Soon, he was able to clear his mind in less than ten seconds.

After the fifth success with counting down from five he decided it was time to get some sleep.  He was out before his head had hit the pillow.

Harry woke the next morning feeling quite refreshed.  He checked the clock and found it was seven thirty.  He'd slept for a good nine hours.  That had to have been the best sleep he'd had in months.  If that was the effect of training at night, he might start doing it more often.

Of course, as it always is when you are dreading something, time seemed to fly by. 

They had spent the morning helping Mr. Weasley go through some of the boxes still in the attic.  Most of them were free from any protective spells, but many of them did contain illegal magical items.  These were confiscated by Mr. Weasley.

Around ten-thirty, Moody discovered a journal chronicling several of the Black's misdeeds from generation to generation.  He also found a petrified gnome, preserved in a box.  Most of the other things were placed back into the box and marked ready to be sent to Narcissa Malfoy.

Later, after lunch they helped Dudley with some basic charm spells.  Harry was again surprised by how quickly Dudley was picking up the spells.  He had only had a few days practice and he was already changing teacups into mice and levitating feathers with few problems. 

However, the place where he seemed to truly excel was in potions.  Harry guessed that this would be because it would resemble chemistry in the Muggle world, Harry seemed to remember something about Dudley taking a chemistry course the previous year in order to learn how to make his own stink bombs.

After Professor McGonagall left, Harry and Ron helped Dudley work on his flying lessons.  Having a grade-A seeker and a Quidditch fan as big as Ron, Dudley was picking things up very quickly.  By the time they had to come down for dinner, Dudley had been able to control his broom well enough that he could race around the room with Harry and put up a decent fight.  Of course, Harry wasn't going to tell him that he was taking it easy on him.

So, in what seemed like barely an hour the day had gone, and now they were back at the dining room table having dinner.  And at five minutes before six, just as they were digging into desert, the fireplace began to rumble and Dumbledore popped out, followed by Professor Snape.

"Good evening everyone," Dumbledore said with his hands open.  "How nice to see you all again."

"Hello Professor."  Harry stood and pulled out his chair.  "Would you care for something to eat?"

"Thank you Harry, but Professor Snape and I have just finished dinner ourselves.  However…"  Dumbledore was looking down at the key lime pie.  Before he could refuse, Harry was handing him a slice.  Then he noticed Snape and, with Dumbledore in the room, decided to offer him a slice as well.

"No thank you, Potter."  Had anyone but Professor Snape replied in this manner, Harry might have been insulted.  But as it was coming from Snape, it actually sounded pretty polite.

The room remained especially silent at the dinner table and time seemed to drag on for hours.  Dumbledore everyone how they were doing and they all replied in kind, but it was quite obvious that everyone was uncomfortable speaking around Snape.  As soon as Dumbledore had finished his pie, Snape spoke up.

"Excuse me, Mr. Potter, but would you mind showing me to the practice room.  I have a few things I have to set up before we begin."

"Indeed, Severus.  As much as I would love to finish this entire pie by myself, I believe it is time that we got started."  Dumbledore stood and smiled at everyone at the table.  "It has been a pleasure catching up with you all.  And Dobby," he said, turning towards the short house-elf, "the pie was absolutely delicious."

"Oh, thank you, Professor Dumbledore Sir.  Dobby is happy to be of assistance."

Dumbledore smiled broadly, then turned and followed Harry and Professor Snape to the basement.

It was immediately obvious to Harry that Snape was impressed with the room, even if he weren't going to admit it.  Snape headed over to the potions section of the room and Harry started to follow, but was stopped short by Dumbledore.

"Harry, if I could have a word with you.  I have spoken with Professor Snape, and although he is not all together enthusiastic about it, he is willing to try to make amends with you.  There are a great number of things that you would be able to learn from Professor Snape if you are willing to give him the chance, but I will not try to force you into anything you do not wish to do.

Harry's face must have given off more emotion than he had intended, because Dumbledore's face fell.  Harry tried quickly to turn things around.

"Sir, I can't say that I'm going to be happy working with Snape... I mean, Professor Snape.  Well, it's no secret that we've never gotten along, but I guess I can understand where he's coming from.  At least, a little bit."  
  
"Hmm."  Dumbledore nodded his head for Harry to continue.

"Well, you probably know by now what I saw his in his pensive."

"Actually, no.  Severus has only told me that you intruded on some personal matters of his.  What you saw, he never told."

"Oh.  Well, um… The thing is…"  Harry felt very uncomfortable.  On the one hand he didn't want to keep anything from Dumbledore, and on the other hand he had his gut wrenching dislike for Snape.  Luckily, he did not need to decide what to say, because Dumbledore was about to make that decision for him.

"There is no need to explain, Harry.  I understand what can happen when we practice Occlumency and Legilimency.  And as I have said, your lessons with Professor Snape will only continue until the end of the summer Holidays.  Until then, however, you will need to get along with Professor Snape as well as possible.  Besides which, his duelling expertise will be invaluable to you.

"His duelling expertise, Sir?"  Harry was completely caught off guard on this declaration.  "I'm afraid I don't understand, Sir."

"Well, originally Professor McGonagall had volunteered to assist you, but between her duties as Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor house, and her training three Animagi, I thought she had quite enough to do.  So, after speaking with Professor Snape about the Occlumency lessons, he thought it might be a good idea if he were to be your Co-Professor.  Besides, he brought it to my attention that the Slytherin students might be a bit more receptive if he were involved."

Harry's eyes were wider than ever, his confusion growing with each word, but he had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach that something was to explode in his face.  "Sorry sir, but what is he going to be involved in.  What is it we will be doing together if it's not Occlumency, and why are the Slytherins going to be involved?"

It was now Dumbledore's turn to look confused.  "I see.  I apologize, Harry.  I was under the impression that Minerva had gone over this with you earlier.  You see, Harry, I have had a great number of parents sending me thank you letters over the past few weeks.  They are very grateful that we at Hogwarts have provided them with a proper Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and more specifically, a proper Duelling club where their children can learn to properly defend themselves."

Now Harry was completely baffled.  It seemed like he knew where Dumbledore was going with this, but it just didn't make sense.

"You see, Harry, those parents were under the impression that the Dumbledore's Army lessons were being orchestrated and taught by me.  Suffice it to say that they were more that a bit surprised when they all found out it was not me, but rather you who had taught their children how to defend themselves.  But since those parents only became aware of this little fact after the Daily Prophet announced Voldemort's return, most of the parents were quite agreeable to you teaching their children how to duel."

Dumbledore was now smiling broadly, and it was the first time that Harry could remember when the smile of his headmaster had frightened him.

"In fact," Dumbledore continued, "most of the parents sent me additional letters asking me for assurance that the duelling club would continue to be a part of the school curriculum."  Harry could feel the air begin to electrify.  Dumbledore was about to drop a bomb on him, and Harry didn't know if he was terrified or excited, but he could feel it coming.

"Furthermore, many of the parents have had an additional request that, while quite unusual, is an idea I find very agreeable.  Of course, it would require that you have an official teacher working with you, but you would have an equal say in everything that were to happen in the class."

"So, what you're saying is…"

"What I am saying is, if you would be willing to work equally with Professor Snape, I would be able to add to this years schedule a total of three duelling classes a week, with you acting as a Deputy Professor, and Head Instructor.

88

COMING SOON

CHAPTER 7

SUMMER SCHOOL


	7. Chapter 7 Summer School

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 7

Summer School

Harry's head was spinning. A thousand different thoughts flew through his mind.

"But sir, there's no way I could teach duelling to a whole class of students," he exclaimed a bit louder than was needed.

Dumbledore smiled broadly at him. "Harry, if I remember correctly, you had well over thirty students in the DA last year, and you had no assistance from any of the teachers at the time. I have full confidence that you can handle the lessons with no problems."

"But, I just… I can't be a teacher. I haven't even graduated Hogwarts."

"Indeed. However, as I am sure you have noticed, you have very few classes next year. In fact, if I remember correctly, you only have five classes this year."

Harry counted them off in his head; Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology, and his only new course, Political Sciences of Magic. That made six, which he mentioned to Dumbledore.

"My mistake," he said with a sly grin. "So, you will have your six classes, plus your Animagus training and Occlumency lessons."

"And Quidditch practice," Harry added defensively.

"Indeed. Well, Harry, it does sound like you do have a rather full schedule after all. Well, I guess I can understand if you do not want to take on this additional class."

"I didn't say that," Harry said in an even more defensive tone. He was quickly taken aback by his abrupt change in direction. Did he want to do this or not?

Once again, as though reading his mind, Dumbledore replied soothingly, "Well, Harry. I can understand if you are unsure to teach the Duelling Class or not, and you need not decide just now. However, if you would be able to send me a reply before your birthday, I would be much obliged."

"Uh, yes sir," was all he replied, too exhausted from talking to say anything else.

"Well, Harry. I believe we have kept Professor Snape long enough. Here, take these." He held out three small red toffees. "These will help you focus. Of course, they only work for a few minutes, but I find they can help after an unusual conversation just before meditations, and they should help you now."

Harry took them from Dumbledore's hand and popped them one by one into his mouth. "Mmm. Is that Caramel?" he asked.

"Indeed. Just because they are magic doesn't mean they can't taste good too." He smiled again, then turned and looked across the room at Snape.

"Now Harry, I understand that you have had a less than ideal relationship with Professor Snape over the past five years, but I need you to put aside your differences for the time being."

Harry wanted to speak up to defend himself and to show Dumbledore how it had been Snape who had started their rivalry. How Snape had done everything to him over the past five years, and that he was not the one causing trouble. But Dumbledore had put up his hand to stop him before he even got started.

"And you should know that I have already spoken to Severus about your past relationships and I have a fairly good idea how things began between you two. After speaking to him I believe he may be a bit more receptive to you, but it is now up to you to take the next step, and I encourage you to do so. I don't think I have to mention how much we need to be able to trust each other in these current days."

Harry nodded. He remembered back to a few weeks ago when he believed that Sirius was in danger. Had he trusted Snape, he probably would have been more likely to go to him, and Sirius might be alive today because of it.

Dumbledore paused for a moment as though waiting for Harry to finish his thoughts before he continued.

"I understand that you do not find Severus's company particularly enjoyable, but I do hope you will trust me when I say that he is very loyal to the Order and I believe you may one day find him to be a great asset."

Harry doubted that a great deal, but he nodded in agreement all the same.

"Good," Dumbledore concluded. "So now that we have that settled, I expect that this will not be an issue when you consider whether or not to teach the duelling class." Dumbledore had a way of ending a discussion before it began, and now was definitely one of those times.

"Yes sir," Harry said begrudgingly.

"Wonderful," Dumbledore replied with an upbeat tone. "Well, now that things are settled around here, I must take my leave. But I look forward to your reply about the duelling class, and in case I don't see you before you return to Hogwarts, have a pleasant holiday, and I'll see you back at Hogwarts."

Harry smiled and escorted Dumbledore to the fireplace. After Dumbledore had left, Harry turned and looked over at Snape. As he headed over he pulled his hand up towards his chest and realised that he had not brought the medallion with him.

Then, just as he was about to turn around to head back upstairs, Snape looked up at Harry and said politely, "Mr. Potter, could you please join me over here?"

Harry stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face. He quickly composed himself and stood upright again, still trying to figure out if he had heard Snape correctly. Had he not known better, he'd have thought Snape was being cordial with him.

With each step he took towards Snape he began to feel a change in the air, as though it were filled with a low current of mixed emotions and he could feel the goose pimples running up and down his arms. It was a truly odd experience.

And then Snape did something to freeze Harry to the bone. He smiled. But it wasn't the normal smirk that Harry had grown accustomed to, but the same kind of smile that he'd seen Snape give to Malfoy. It was eerie to see him use the same smile on him, even if it was soft.

"Mr. Potter. Before we begin tonight, I need to speak to you about something unrelated to Occlumency."

Harry didn't move.

"It has been brought to my attention recently that I may have overstepped my bounds with you over recent years. If that is so, I apologise."

Harry looked suspiciously at Snape.

"And no, I am not a Death-Eater in disguise, Mr. Potter. I have simply had a talk with Professor Dumbledore recently and have come to understand that I may have taken some of my dislike for your father out on you. Therefore, he has asked me to clean the slate, if you will, and see if we can find some common ground, and I have agreed. However, this does not mean that I will be taking it easy on you, but I will make an effort to minimise the animosity between us."

Harry noticed that Snape's words were carefully chosen and it seemed that he had rehearsed this speech several times.

"In addition, Dumbledore suggested I ask you about the prophecy which was lost last month. He felt it was best that you tell me what the prophecy involved as you were the primary subject of the prophecy, and you should have the right to decide whether or not to tell me."

"You don't know?" Harry asked, clearly shocked and amused. Harry knew at once that he should have taken a better tone as Snape's face scrunched back into its normal sneer.

"Sorry, sir. It's just that it seemed like I was the only one who didn't know what the prophecy was about. I guess I just assumed that you knew what it was about." Snape's face softened, but not by much. Harry continued.

"The prophecy said that as long as one of us lives, the other must die, and that one must be killed by the other. In other words, if I don't kill Voldemort, he's going to kill me."

Snape's eyes went a little wide for a moment, but returned to normal just a split second later.

"Indeed. I suppose that explains why Professor Dumbledore has favoured you over some of the other students through the past five years, thought I don't know that I can blame him."

Harry couldn't think of a response, so he just sat silent and let Snape continue on.

"So, at the request of Professor Dumbledore, I am going to extend some latitude to you, but I would not press my luck if I were you, Mr. Potter. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied. Then, before he could stop himself, he added," And I expect that while you are in my house you will continue to show me the respect you have shown me today."

It was a bit of a childish remark, but he had to make sure that Snape knew that this was _his _house and he would not stand to be disrespected in his own home. Snape responded with a sneer, but gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement. When Harry didn't add anything, Snape changed the subject over to Occlumency.

"Now, before we begin working on the Occlumency lessons, I think it would be prudent for us to set some ground rules, and the first rule is to ensure that we extend that respect you just spoke about to each other's property." The word "property" was said with a tone of annoyance as Snape looked over to the table where the Pensive resided. A pang of guilt echoed inside Harry's stomach.

"Second, though I have been asked not to tell you who your new professor will be, I can tell you that we have had Legilimens Duels on two previous occasions and it took me a full day to fully recover from the experiences. So I find it only fair that I should warn you now that I will not accept any excuses from you from here on out, and I expect you to show a greater amount of progress than you did last year because this time it's not just your well being that rides on this training, it's my reputation as a Professor on the line."

"Well then, I guess it's time we got started," Harry replied plainly, trying to make sure there was no inflection in his voice.

Neither spoke for the next few minutes as Snape finished moving his memories to the pensive. As Snape was pulling out the long glowing strings of memories from his head, Harry turned, closed his eyes, and began his exercises. He started at ten and counted backwards three times before he was able to completely clear his mind, but that was much better than he had done the last time he had faced Snape, so he hoped he might have a chance.

Finally, Snape turned around and called Harry over to him.

"Are you ready, Mr. Potter?" he asked gruffly. Harry nodded.

"Then arm yourself," he said quickly, then pointed his wand at Harry and said something low and under his breath. But even if he had shouted, it wouldn't have made a difference. For all Harry's preparation, he hadn't been ready when Snape attacked.

The world went blank for a split second, and then flashes of memories began to run through his head. He remembered the snake escaping its cage just before his first year at Hogwarts, then five years earlier as Dudley had chased him through the school, then to that Friday when Harry asked Cho to the Yule Ball, and then to the submersed room where Sirius died. Time suddenly slowed and he began to watch again as Sirius had been struck in the chest by the red light, then fell back through the archway. Harry put out one hand to try to catch Sirius, but his hand missed and he landed on all fours.

He looked back up to see Snape standing over him, a sneer crossing his face. The anger grew quickly in his stomach, and by the time he had reached his feet, it had turned into a fury that had even surprised Harry, but that didn't stop his from speaking his mind.

"I suppose you think it's funny, watching Sirius die. I'm sure you find it to be your greatest accomplishment in life, watching Sirius get killed. But then, you've been waiting to see that ever since he played that joke on you all those years ago. And now you get a two for one deal. You get to watch me lose my godfather while watching one of your childhood rivals get killed." He spat a he said these last few words, not quite sure if he wanted to scream, cry, or do both while using the Cruciatus curse against him. But his anger subsided a bit as he noticed the smirk was now a look of grave sorrow.

"Contrary to your misguided opinion, Potter, I take no pleasure in Sirius's death. No matter how much I may have disliked him, I will never be happy knowing the Order has lost one of its strongest members."  
  
"Don't give me that. I heard how you mocked him for not being able to do anything for the Order. You treated him the same way you treat me. And don't deny it. You've hated Sirius ever since you were in school. Ever since he…"  
  
"I know full well what he did and how I feel about him, Potter," Snape interrupted loudly, "but I am able to control my feelings and use them to my advantage without compromising myself. That is why I was smiling just now, and that is why you are getting so upset with me now. Do you truly believe it to be a coincidence that you happen to relive memories that were upsetting to you?"

"You mean you wanted to make me watch Sirius die again?" Harry screamed back to Snape. Snape's reply was in a soft and even tone.

"Indeed. Do you think I had not noticed your preparations before we began? Do you truly think that you could so easily shrug off your thoughts with a little forethought? The Dark Lord will take no such measures when he tries to penetrate your mind. He will come after you when you least expect it and he will do his worst to try and learn anything he can from you."

"But I thought you said he couldn't read minds. That you couldn't just pick and choose what you wanted to know."

"Indeed I did, and that is true. However, it is possible to manipulate the emotions of a person to bring about certain types of memories. That's how The Dark Lord manipulated your mind last month."

"And now you get to do the same thing to me," Harry spat back.

"And now I am going to train you on countering such attacks, yes," Snape responded, again in a calm voice. "I am not here to enjoy any pain I must inflict upon you, but if you are going to defeat The Dark Lord, you are going to have to fight more than one battle. Being fast with your want is going to have no effect when he begins to attack your mind. The fastest hands in the world still need an ample mind to direct them."

Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he was done talking to Snape.

"Let's just get back to how I'm supposed to fight Voldemort." Snape flinched at the name, but didn't say anything.

"If you're ready, arm yourself. And this time, instead of trying to avoid me entering your thoughts, why don't you try fighting the thoughts you have after I have made contact."

Harry stared at Snape for a moment, thinking, and then nodded his head.

It started again. Images flashed through his head. He watched himself playing with a small spider in the cupboard under the stairs, then saw him facing Aragog in the Dark forest, then Malfoy flashing his badge in fourth year which read _Support Cedrick Diggory_ which, for just a moment, caused him to look at Snape at the head of the class, and for a split second he seemed to be able to have thoughts of his own, and he concentrated on Snape. Then a second Snape came into view, almost like a ghost, and he concentrated with all his might…

"Expelliarmus!" he cried as loud as he could, though Snape heard it as barely more than a whisper. However, it had its desired effect and Snape dropped his wand. The room came flooding back into view and Harry found himself down on one knee, but his wand was still pointed at Snape, and a new smile crossed Snape's face.

"Very good, Potter. It seems you have been working on this more than I had anticipated, though you could have acted a bit quicker than that. Nevertheless, it is nice to see you making some progress. You may yet prove to become an Occlumens after all. Now, take three minutes to eat some chocolate and we will try again."

Harry pulled a pair of chocolate frogs from his robes and ate. He tried his best to keep a straight face, but it was truly difficult. It had been the first time that he had felt any true control while Snape had invaded his mind. Of course, he knew that Snape now had something to prove and would work that much harder to break him.

Three minutes later and he was once again face to face with Snape. A moment later he was reliving more memories. Snape was talking to Professor Quirrell. Malfoy was pretending to faint as he pointed at a Dementor he claimed was behind Harry. Hagrid was taken away to Azkaban. Then he was back in the cemetery looking down at Cedric's body. Once again time seemed to return to a normal speed. He saw that he was surrounded by dozens of Death Eaters as Voldemort was dressed in his robe.

Suddenly, the dark graveyard disappeared and the room returned once again. But this time, as Harry was taking notice that he was still standing, he realized that he had not done anything to fight Snape. He looked up to see Snape's face covered in sweat, his eyes wide, horror struck. Their eyes met for a moment before Snape quickly turned around and seemed to be looking at the Pensive.

When he turned back around he seemed to have recomposed himself, but his voice betrayed any illusion of strength he may have shown in his body language.

"That is all we will be working on today," he began, his voice a half octave higher than normal. He cleared his voice and continued with a slightly clearer voice.

"There are some things that need mentioning that may help you in future lessons. I want you to look over these three books." Snape handed Harry three relatively thin books.

"The first book will cover what I will be trying to teach you over the next three weeks, which is what you have done here today, breaking the control of an external mental influence. The second book will cover blocking outside influences and controlling what is witnessed by the Legilimens. The third book you can cover in your spare time, though we will review some of the beginning aspects before the start of term. It covers reversing of the flow of information during the connection made during Occlumency and can, with the properly trained wizard, be used to reverse the effects of Legilimens completely and allow the targeted wizard to enter the mind of the assailant."

Harry looked down at the three books, each of them blue, red, and white respectively. The three of them total were still lighter than any of his schoolbooks. He placed them on the table for reading later and looked back up at Snape.

"Your next professor will be working quite extensively on the subject of the third book and will attempt to find out whether you might have the aptitude not only for Occlumency, but for Legilimency as well. Now, I have some things to take care of today so I will cut this session short, but I suggest you cover at least two chapters of the first book before we meet again. I will be arriving promptly Friday evening at seven and I expect you to be ready for a full two hour session. I may not be grading you, but I will still be asking questions to ensure that you have done your homework. Is that understood, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes sir," Harry said. He was surprised to have the lessons end so quickly, but it was a relief at any rate.

"Until Friday, then. If you don't mind, I will only be a few minutes before I take my leave. I take it there is no objection to my using the fireplace there?" he added, pointing to the fireplace across the room.

"Sure," Harry replied. Then, for reasons he couldn't fathom, he added, "And sir, I'm sorry for what happened last time, and it won't happen again."

Snape whipped his head up and looked at Harry with a cold stare, as though trying to read his soul for any deception. After a few moments however, he seemed to come to a conclusion and, for a split second, Harry could see Snape's face soften a bit, and he gave the slightest of nods.

Harry knew he wouldn't get a better reply, so he simply gave a quick nod back and headed for the door.

Upstairs, Ron and Hermione were playing a game of chess. It seemed to be the only thing that required a good deal of intelligence that Ron could do that Hermione couldn't seem to grasp, and it seemed Hermione was now determined to take that away from him, though Harry doubted she'd ever pull it off, unless Ron let her.

"Well that was fun," Harry said, announcing his presence. Ron and Hermione quickly looked up and started fighting over who would ask Harry first. He didn't give either of them much of a chance.

"Hold on," he called out, his hand raised. "If you'll sit back down, I'll tell you what happened."

He told them what Dumbledore had spoken to him about, then about both of his conversations with Snape, and finished by telling them how he'd actually fought back. When he was finished, Ron jumped in quickly, bombarding Harry with questions.

"So now old Snape just wants to make up and be friends?" Hermione sighed loudly.

"Geeze Ron, don't you listen. He's not trying to be friends with Harry; he's just doing what Dumbledore told him to do. You know that no matter how bad Snape wants something, he'll never cross Dumbledore to get it. But I would like to know who your new Occlumency teacher is going to be. I wonder if it'll be the same person who'll take over the Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"I don't know, but whoever it is, neither Dumbledore nor Snape are willing to talk about it. Either way, I'm just glad I'm starting to get the hang of this. But I'll tell you what really scares me, that third book." He pointed to the three books he had laid on the coffee table. Hermione walked over and picked them up.

"Wait a minute. I recognize one of these. I've seen this book in the restricted section of the library."

"Hold on. What were _you_ doing in the restricted section of the library?"

"I was working on a paper for Arithmancy and I had to look something up in the restricted section. It was actually pretty easy. Professor Vector lets me check out any book I want."

"I'll have to remember that," Harry interrupted.

"Yes, well anyways, I saw that book in the library and I was thinking about checking it out for you last year, but then a sixth-year Slytherin checked it out and I never saw it again."

"Well, now we know where it went. He was checking it out so Snape could give it to Harry."

"But that's just it. He checked it out just before Christmas. Why would he just now give it to Harry if he checked it out way back then?"

"I don't know, but I do know that this isn't the copy. See here." On the bottom of the front page was a business stamp.

Thank you for purchasing _Do You Mind? A beginner's guide to Occlumency _by Selena Stubortum.

If you enjoy this book, feel free to come back to Flourish and Blotts for all you magical reading needs.

"See. These are brand new copies. There's no way it could be the same book that Snape check out of the library."

"Which means, either he's not as good as he acts, or he was trying to do something specific and he didn't want us to catch on," added Ron.

"Actually, I think there's another possibility. I wouldn't be surprised if he had taken the book just to make sure that I never got a chance to read it. That's probably why he's giving them to me now. He feels guilty for Sirius."

"Guilty? That git? Not likely. He hated Sirius. He probably spends an hour a day gloating about it."

"That's what I thought at first, but you weren't down there with Snape. When I said the same thing to him he got the same look in his eyes that Hagrid got when Uncle Vernon called Dumbledore a crackpot. I was half expecting him to attack me when I accused him of wanting Sirius dead. I don't think he was faking it."

"Sounds a bit funny to me. I'd almost think he was trying to trick you, but you said Dumbledore talked to him, so…" Ron trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Harry looked deeply at both Hermione and Ron, shaking his head. "I don't know what Dumbledore said to Snape, and I really don't care. All I know is that he was a different person downstairs and as long as he stays that way I might just make it through this summer without jinxing him."

Ron laughed loudly and even Hermione let a slight giggle slip. "Harry. Honestly," She added half-heartedly, shaking her head.

"Hey, don't laugh. I'll get my chance if I take on the duelling club."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, then looked back at Harry in unison and said, "What duelling club?"

Harry looked back blankly at them both for a moment. With all the problems that came with the Occlumency he'd completely forgot to tell them about Dumbledore's offer to make him the Head Instructor and a Deputy Professor. He quickly went over it with them and then gave him the exact responses he expected.

"That's great, Harry," came Hermione. "I don't think they've ever done that at Hogwarts before. You'd be bigger than the Head Boy."

"Never mind that. Think of all the thing's you'd be able to do to the Slytherins. And the look on Malfoy's face when he finds out. Oh, he'll be furious."

"I never said I was going to take it. It's a big resp…"

"Not going to take it?" Ron cried. "Are you insane? It's the chance of a lifetime."

"Yea, well think of it this way. What's the next logical step after being a Duelling Professor?"

Ron thought about it for a few moments, but Hermione didn't let it sit long.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. But Harry, come on. This is you we're talking about. It's you that have taken care of the three Dark Arts Professors. And besides, it sounds like Professor Dumbledore might be thinking of making this a regular part of the curriculum, so you wouldn't move there anyways. Besides, it would be really good if you did go into the Ministry to become an Auror."

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it some more later, but right now I'd rather talk about something else."

Hermione and Ron let it drop for the time being and they all spent the rest of the night playing Exploding Snap and wizard chess. Harry was the first to turn in just before ten, totally exhausted by the day's events. He put the Medallion on and headed to bed, but never got to his practice before falling fast asleep.

The next morning he woke up in a deep sweat. He looked over at the clock. It was only five forty-three. He brushed his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. The last thing he could remember was walking down a seemingly endless series of steps. The further down he went, the darker things got, even with his wand lit.

Then, suddenly, a horrific laugh caused him to wake up. It was the laugh of Voldemort. Even now he could still feel the happiness that Voldemort was going through. Whatever had happened to make him so happy, it was something that made him happy enough to keep him happy for quite a while.

Even as he headed downstairs after getting cleaned up and dressed for the day he could still hear echoes of Voldemort's laughter in his mind.

As always, Dobby was there waiting for him with breakfast. He ate quickly and headed downstairs for more Occlumency practice. If there was anything he hated more than Voldemort, it was having Voldemort's thoughts echoing in his head.

Around eight Remus came down to talk. Harry told him about his hearing Voldemort's laugh and Remus said he would look into it, but couldn't leave without commenting on Harry's good sense to continue his lessons. He promised to come down later with any information he could get about Voldemort's new attitude.

Ron and Hermione joined him shortly after, and when Dudley arrived they continued to help Dudley with his work throughout the day. It was nearly five by the time Remus returned with news. It wasn't good.

"Our spies have told us that the Dementors have met with Voldemort at an underground fortress somewhere in Greece. They are already talking about sending groups of them out to large gatherings of Muggles to give them strength. It has also come to our attention that there are plans in the works for a prison break within the next few months. Now that his return has been announced, his Death Eater count grows on a weekly basis, and it appears that Voldemort himself is gaining strength as well."

"So it sounds like he's going to start making his presence felt," said Harry sombrely.

"It appears so. I hate to say it, but it sounds like he is going to begin his war against the rest of the wizarding world before the end of the year. We can only hope that things are more quickly controlled this time around."

Harry nodded. Though the hadn't been around during the last reign of Voldemort he had heard more than his fair share of stories and seem enough in Dumbledore's Pensieve to know how dangerous a time it was. Without thinking twice about it, he stood up and headed upstairs.

"Where you going, Harry?" asked Remus and Ron together, but it was too late. He was up the stairs quickly and continued going up to the third floor where he went into his room for a piece of parchment and a quill.

It took only a few moments to write his letter, as he had very little he needed to say. Just as he finished up, Ron and Hermione stepped into the room followed closely by Remus. They said nothing as they watched Harry sign his name to the letter before holding it up to read over once before sending it out.

Dear Professor Dumbledore.

I know that this response comes much quicker than you expected, but after what I head today, I don't see any other way to reply. Therefore, pursuant to your request of yesterday, I say yes and only hope that I can be everything you believe me to be. I would appreciate any help you could give me. Please give anything I may need to Hagrid to bring with him when he comes on Friday.

Yours truly,

Harry Potter.

And without a word he walked right back downstairs to the basement and to the fireplace. He dropped some Floo powder into the fireplace and called out for Hagrid. A few moments later Hagrid's large bushy face appeared in the fireplace.

"Hello Harry," he said happily. "How you doing?"

"Good Hagrid," He replied as Hagrid looked around. "Thanks. But listen, Hagrid. I was wondering if you could give this letter to Dumbledore right away. It's very important. Hogwarts business," he said with a wink.

"Oh. Right then. By the way, I like what you done with the place. But anyways, better get this to Dumbledore. He's about to sit down for dinner, so I should be able to catch him in the teacher's lounge. So, see you on Friday then?"

"Right. And Hagrid. Thanks."

"Ahh. Anything for you Harry, you know that. Well, see you then," he said merrily, then disappeared from sight.

Harry turned around to three faces of complete confusion. Finally, Ron spoke up.

"Harry, what was that?" he asked suspiciously.

"What?" Harry asked innocently.

"Harry," said Remus, "I stand by you one hundred percent. I know I was only your professor for one year, but if there is anything I can help you out with, I'm here for you."

"Oh Harry, it's going to be great. I'll bet you'll be the most celebrated teacher since, well, Professor Lupin."

"I wonder who she's trying to impress here, you or me." A broad smile crossed Remus's face as he winked over at Harry.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think Hagrid's right. It's about time for dinner," Harry said with a note of closure. It was evident that he didn't want to talk about his decision just then, so everyone headed back to the kitchen quietly.

The rest of the day continued in the same manner. Harry said very little all day and headed to his room even earlier than the day before. He was in bed by nine thirty, but unlike the day before he had a new resolve when it came to his Occlumency training. He spent over an hour reading _Do You Mind_ and another half hour working on the exercises it listed.

When he finally got to sleep around eleven he was pretty sure that he would have a better nights sleep.

Thursday was much better than Wednesday. First, Harry didn't have any problems sleeping, and second, when he looked at the Daily Prophet there were no articles about Death Eater attacks and nothing about Muggles going into fits of depression.

The day went by quickly enough and nothing major happened, though Dudley did make a good deal of progress with his transfigurations. He was already mastering turning water goblets into rats and back again and had begun to work on turning a teapot into a rock.

Dudley had asked Mr. and Mrs. Dursley if he could stay out until nine and they agreed, stating that it might be nice to go out for dinner for a change. So Dudley was able to stay a few extra hours, had a nice dinner, and even played a game or two of Exploding Snap, though he wasn't sure how he was going to explain to Aunt Petunia how he ended up with burnt eyebrows.

"I'll just tell her I was working on a project for school. Chemistry or something. She'll buy it," He added, sounding confident.

The rest of the night came and went without incident and the next morning everyone seemed to feel the electricity in the air as they waited for Hagrid to arrive. This would be the first time that Ron and Hermione would see Hagrid do magic, and even Harry was looking forward to seeing Hagrid do something more than giving his cousin a tail and giving a boat a little boost of movement.

That's when it hit him. Dudley and Hagrid were going to be in the same room together. The last time Dudley had seen Hagrid he'd ended up with a tail. Unfortunately, Hagrid arrived first which stopped Harry from warning Dudley that he would be sharing his class with Hagrid over the next few weeks. As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about.

When Professor McGonagall arrived with Dudley before nine they headed straight downstairs to find Hagrid in an extra large chair, sitting in front of what would appear to be a Dinning room table to anyone else, but looked more like a tall coffee table in front of Hagrid.

To Harry's great surprise, Dudley walked right up to Hagrid, put his hand out, and said, "Nice to see you again, Hagrid."

"Well hello there. Dudley isn't it? Sorry bout that bit a few years ago, but well sometimes I let me anger get the best of me."

"Not to worry. Thinking back on it, I probably deserved it," he said brightly.

Hagrid then looked over at Harry and smiled.

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one at Hogwarts who is teaching a class before he graduates," he said with a huge smile. "Dumbledore asked me to give this to you."

Hagrid pulled out a package and handed it to Harry. He opened it and found one large book and one small. The small book was a teacher's guide to Hogwarts which went over all the rules, and more specifically, where Harry would fit in as Deputy Professor, and as it turned out, he had the same rights a Head Boy, plus a few extras that applied when he was in class. But the one thing that caught his eye was the rule about being able to walk the school grounds as a teacher at all times. This meant that he didn't have to worry about Filch any more if he was walking around at night, though with the Marauder's Map that wasn't usually an issue.

The second book was a book on advanced duelling charms. Harry opened this one and was surprised at what he found. There were no explanations on who created the spells or when. It was simply a list of spells in different groups and how they were used, which spells were best to counter them, and a full illustration on how to cast them.

Harry spent most of the day reading his books and working with Ron to help Hagrid with his transfiguration spells. As it turned out, Hagrid had picked up enough over the years so that he had caught on to most things quite quickly. Harry had a feeling that Hagrid had been sneaking in some practice from time to time because he seemed to take to his new wand, a seventeen inch Maple wand with a dragon's heartstring core.

By the end of the day Harry was convinced that Hagrid had been doing something because even though he had been kicked out of school during his fourth year, many of the spells he was doing was well within a fifth year's abilities, and some of the charms were foreign even to Hermione's knowledge.

When confronted, he responded simply, "Well, when you work at a school for fifty years yea can't avoid not learning some things. Besides, I've been doing little bitts here and there ever since I took over the Care of Magical Creatures class."

As Harry thought of it, it did explain a few things. He'd known that Hagrid had breed manti-cores and fire-crabs into Blast-Ended Skrewts, and that had to take some extra spell work.

Harry invited Hagrid to stay for dinner and they ended up having dinner in the basement. Even though he lived at Hogwarts, Hagrid seemed extremely impressed with what had been done to the basement and thanked Harry for letting him take classes here no less than twenty-seven times.

"Don't worry about it Hagrid," Harry would reply. "You've been great to me for five years. You were the one who told me who and what I was. This is the very least I can do."

"Ah, Harry. You're a true mate. You're father would be really proud of how you turned out. We all are."

Harry smiled back to Hagrid. If Remus was his surrogate godfather, Hagrid would be the big brother he never had.

Unfortunately, all too soon, it was six and Snape was back in the corner prepping the area for another round of mental ping pong.

"Did you review the first two chapters as I asked?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied blandly.

"Very good. So, what is the first sign that your thoughts are being invaded or manipulated?"

"Fatigue," Harry answered plainly.

"Correct. And the second sign?"

"Lack of concentration. Your mind wanders and you tend to daydream a lot."

"Correct again. You know Mr. Potter, if you were this attentive in potions you might have been brought into my Advanced Potions class."

"Yea, well I don't know that I'll have enough time this year with everything else."

"Indeed. Dumbledore had informed me of your choice to head the Duelling class. I assume there will not be an issue if I do decide to take on the position of Supervising Professor."

"Well, it's like Professor Dumbledore said. You'll attract the Slytherin students and there are a lot of Slytherin students who deserve the right to defend themselves just as much as everyone else."

Snape took a long hard look at Harry and did not try to hide his feelings of mistrust.

"Honestly, sir, I doubt there's anything I can tell you that will convince you that I'm on the level, so why don't we just get to work and you can see for yourself when we get back to school."

After a moment of hesitance Snape replied, "Very well, let begin."

Two hours later Harry was back upstairs talking to Dudley, Ron, and Hermione.

"So how'd it go this time?" asked Ron.

"Well, we worked for well over an hour on Occlumency, but it was different than the last times. It was more, I don't know, structured? I mean, like how he used to just telling me to get ready and then cast Legilimens It was kinda weird really. He would start out light, like he was taking it easy on me. Then, when I would break his link with me more easily he would try harder. He was working me up to the harder work. It seemed to work too cause I was able to break his control five times by the end of the night. Then, during the last half hour he went over some of the training techniques. I swear for a few minutes there I actually forgot it was Snape who was there."

"Sounds he's under some kind of politeness spell or something," said Ron.

"Don't be silly. He's obviously just doing what Dumbledore told him to do. He's got to be. No matter what happens, Snape will never break his word to Dumbledore."

"I don't care what Dumbledore told Snape. As far as I'm concerned, He's a git and he'll always be a git."

"Well, since you call him a git, I guess it's a closed case," Harry said with a laugh.

They all joined in the laughter and enjoyed the freedom of not having to do any schoolwork the next day. Since Hermione would be leaving on Sunday and wouldn't be coming back until Harry's birthday they all planned to head back to Diagon Alley over the weekend to do some sweets shopping and drop by the Leaky Cauldron for some Butterbeer.

So Dudley left at nine again and said he'd try to see if he could try to stay the night Saturday. The rest of the gang watched TV for some time before retiring for the night.

Harry spent a good amount of time on his Occlumency training, holding the medallion all the time. He felt completely at ease when he finally fell to sleep and once again had no interruptions to a peaceful nights sleep.

{====}

Coming Soon

Chapter 8  
Summer Surprises


	8. Chapter 8 Summer Surprises

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 8

Summer Surprises

The weekend seemed to come and go in no time at all. Harry made sure to get back to Grimmauld Place by seven in the morning and never arrived back at Privet Drive until exactly nine thirty, the latest time the Dursleys would allow him to come home.

Everyone spent Saturday in Diagon Alley to do some shopping. Then on Sunday they spent their last day together in the basement playing games and flying around on their brooms while Hermione sat with Buckbeak.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger arrived escorted by Tonks, Moody, and Mundungus Fletcher. It seemed they were more entertained by Fletcher than everyone else, but in general they all seemed to be having a good time.

Before leaving, Mr. Granger made mention that, since Hermione had spent the entire last week with Harry, he and Mrs. Granger wanted to spend an extra bit of time with their daughter before school started up once again. Since they would only be in America for another six weeks, they felt it would be best to stay together for the rest of their vacation, with the exception of course of Harry's birthday.

They all said their goodbyes, including Ron who had a few extra chores to do and would not be back until Wednesday. So the week started out with Dudley and Harry spending more time together, and before Harry knew it, they were actually beginning to like spending time together.

Over the weeks that followed, things began to fall into a normal routine. Dudley and Hagrid continued their classes during the week while Ron was keeping Harry company Thursday through Sunday.

When Ron wasn't about, Harry would spend time going through his Animagus book and working on his Occlumency lessons. Over the next six weeks he had become rather adept with blocking Snape's intrusions. He was often able to break his link with Snape by his third try during lessons and was quickly improving, though he never heard this from Snape.

It seemed that Snape's polite demeanour had faded from him early, as he had begun treating Harry in a manner that more were closely related to tolerance, rather than acceptance, when he was teaching Harry. However, the lack of insults had given Harry the impression that he was doing better, and there was a slight look of acknowledgement that came over Snape when Harry had done some of his more impressive work.

"That was, effective, Mr. Potter," he would say to Harry. Initially Harry had taken to thanking him and trying to impress Snape on his tactics, but that was quickly rejected after Snape's continuous smirks and comments about "The Dark Lord" not giving him the benefit of an advanced warning before trying to invade his mind. Harry had shrugged this off until the end of their last meeting for the month of June.

"It seems you are indeed beginning to fully grasp the full weight of why you need to practice Occlumency. However, there is one final series of lessons that I believe, and the Headmaster agrees, requires your undivided attention. From now until the week prior to your return to Hogwarts, we will only be meeting on Wednesdays. The reason for this is to allow me to randomly test your abilities without your prior knowledge, and that includes while you are asleep."

Harry was about to object, but Snape was a bit too quick for him.

"And before you make any unfounded accusations, I have already spoken to Lupin who will be notified twenty-four hours before I arrive and he shall accompany me during any such lessons in which you will be tested unawares. We will cover any additional steps you need to exercise to protect yourself on Wednesdays. And don't think that just because you stay at your Aunt and Uncle's two times a week that you will not be tested there as well." The smirk that crossed his face made Harry's blood freeze as though he were surrounded by ten Dementors.

"Of course," he continued, "we shall be spending the last week of July preparing you for your next Professor."

Snape smirked as he mentioned this last bit. Was it a smirk of accomplishment that he had actually prepared Harry for his new Professor even though he thought it impossible, or was he smirking at the fact that Harry was going to be in for a bit of trouble once his new teacher took over? Harry wasn't sure which it was, but neither sounded particularly pleasing.

"Also, I have some work to do for the Order so you will have a small break next week, but I would highly suggest you spend the next week practising because I may be coming by any time between next Saturday and the following Wednesday." There was an air of amusement in Snape's voice that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand on end.

The weekend that followed seemed very odd. It began with Ron telling Harry that he wouldn't be able to meet him for the weekend, but his reasons and mannerisms seemed a bit peculiar.

"Sorry, but I forgot to do some chores so Mum is putting me on restriction for the next week. I can't come over and nobody can come visit over here." It wasn't so much the words that seemed odd to him, but more the attitude behind his words. He acted unhappy about it, but there was something in his tone that lead Harry to think that Ron wasn't as upset as he said he was.

Then, when Hermione arrived on Friday to spend some time with Harry, the first thing she did was to tell him that she wouldn't be able to stay the whole weekend.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I really wanted to stay, but Mum and Dad say that going to see the San Francisco Symphony is a once in a lifetime experience and the only tickets they could get were for Sunday. But I can still stay until tomorrow night," she added as though this would fix everything.

Then, the worst. Not only had nobody mentioned his birthday yet, but then Dudley, the one person that Harry had been able to rely over the past few weeks had told him that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wanted to head to London to pick up some new school clothes since he wouldn't have to wear a school uniform any longer. This meant that he would not be able to accompany Harry back to Grimmauld Place over the weekend.

The one ray of sunshine was Remus. Remus wanted to bring Harry over to his family's home out in countryside of Wales. He said that since the area was populated by more wizards and witches than Muggles, and since each family owned so much land out there, he thought that they might bring Buckbeak with them to his old home where Harry could meet his brother and sister-in-law.

"They're good people. Of the whole family, Romulous is the only one who has never shown any animosity towards me for being a werewolf, though I think he still blames himself for… Well, anyways, I think you might like him, and they have a son who will be coming out to Hogwarts next year."

"Oh, okay. When do we leave?" Harry asked semi-enthusiastically. It wasn't the best plan for things to do over the next few days, but it was better than staying around the house all day, and that was reason enough to go. Besides, it might be nice to see where his Godfather came from. And that's when it hit him. Sirius.

He had referred to Remus neither as a surrogate Godfather nor as his new Godfather. He was simply his Godfather. But what about Sirius. Was he betraying Sirius's memory by addressing Remus this way, especially so soon after Sirius's death? _But you didn't know him for all that long, really _said a voice in his head. But he did. He knew Sirius for two years now, and whenever he had any kind of a problem, Sirius was always there for him. Harry's feelings must have been showing because Remus was asking him something in a very soft voice, though Harry hadn't caught what had been said.

"Sorry," he said shyly, "what was that?"

"I asked if you were alright, Harry. You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah. Well I have, kind of. I was thinking about you and I realised that I thought of you as my Godfather."

Remus's face brightened. "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" he asked lightly.

"Well, yeah… It's just that, well… It's just that I was thinking of you as just my Godfather and not a stand-in for Sirius. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love having you around and all, but it's like I'm betraying Sirius's memory by accepting you in his place. Oh bugger, I'm never going to say this right," he said angrily.

"Harry, I know exactly what you mean, and I think it's completely healthy. Sirius was, and still is, a very important person in your life and you can't be expected to just forget him. But at the same time, you shouldn't feel bad that you are going to continue to adjust to life without him. He wouldn't have wanted you to stop living just because he can't be here with you."

Harry bowed his head. Of course he knew that Remus was right, but it didn't make him feel that much better. It all sounded like pointless excuses to him. They were giving him nothing more than empty reasons why he could forget about Sirius without feeling guilty. Well, that wasn't going to happen. He would never forget Sirius, but he did have to admit, to himself anyway, that having Remus around was kinda nice too.

"Harry. I know it's hard to let go, but if you hold onto something too tight that isn't really there, sooner or later you'll become consumed by it, and you'll never be able to truly live until you come to terms with it. It's much better to do that now. Trust me, it's better in the long run, and you'll never regret living without him, but you may never forgive yourself if you don't."

Again Harry nodded. He knew that everything Remus was saying was true. He went through the same things when he saw Cedric killed over a year ago, though that only lasted a few weeks. But even still, he hadn't know Cedric they way he knew Sirius. Sirius was the closest thing to a father he had had. But Remus _was _right. He needed to start living again. That's what Sirius would have done.

"Your right. I need to get on with my life, and I'm going to start right now, by heading out with my Godfather and meeting his family."

"Right. Well, if we're going to go then I need to send an owl over to Romulous to let him know when we'll arrive. We'll be heading out just before dawn tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we should be able to ride Buckbeak most of the way there and arrive sometime just after lunch."

They spent a few more moments going over some of the travel plans before he headed back downstairs where he spent the rest of the day with Hermione. He told her about the planned trip with Remus and she told him about everything that she had done in America.

They spent several hours talking while working on different spells that they thought he might be able to use in his Duelling Classes including some of the more basic spells used in different fashions. Hermione had suggested some very inventive ways of using transfiguration spells to change Harry's shoes into lead, and Harry responded by giving Hermione's Robe wings which tried to fly away with her still in it.

All too soon it was time for her to go home and Harry was left alone. He was upstairs and in his room by nine and had finished a heavy set of Occlumency exercises.

That night he had a wonderful dream which had him, Sirius, and Remus duelling Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and standing across from Harry, Godrick Gryffindor, all the while his Mum and Dad watched from the sidelines. It was a great battle, but in the end, Harry's team had lost, two to one, with Harry being the only one who had been able to disarm Gryffindor after he had missed with a sleeping spell.

They all laughed and enjoyed each other's company until a Loud Explosion came from the North Tower of the castle.

Harry woke with a start, looked around and heard a voice coming from outside his door.

"...blasted stupid trunk. Repairo." It was Remus, and as Harry looked over at his clock he realised what was happening. It was already four fifteen in the morning. They were due to leave in less than an hour.

Half an hour later he had his trunk by the back porch and was eating a quick breakfast. Dobby seemed very excited at the prospect of having nobody around for three whole days. His day off would normally have been yesterday, but as Harry and Remus were to be gone for three days, Harry suggested that he take the whole three days off instead. Dobby didn't much like this idea, but he said that he would take the rest of Sunday off and then maybe take more time working on the house since nobody would be around.

"And maybe Dobby could even, take a break," he said, quivering at the word.

"That would be just fine, Dobby. Don't work too hard now, okay?"

"Thank you, Harry Potter Sir," Dobby said with excitement covering his face. Harry had not doubt that Dobby's "break" would last no more than thirty seconds and the thought made him laugh. He made a mental note to try to spend Dobby's next day off with him, possibly with Hermione. Then his face turned a bit sour at thinking of her. She still hadn't mentioned his birthday, even before she left, and he still hadn't heard from Ron either.

"Ready to go?" came Remus's voice.

"Ready," Harry replied.

"Great. I already brought Buckbeak into the back yard, so all we have to do now is work a little magic on the trunks here." He pulled out his wand, waved it once, and each of the trunks lifted themselves up a foot off the ground. With another wave a pair of ropes had attached themselves to the trunks with a large loop at one end for someone to hold onto. "And if you'll just bring those out with you, we can hook them up to the rear harness and we'll be ready to fly."

Harry pulled the trunks out the back door and into the back yard to find Buckbeak standing there with a large double-saddle.

"Now, since you've ridden Buckbeak before I think you should take the reigns. I'll go ahead and attach the leader rope to the back and we'll be ready for takeoff."

A few moments later Buckbeak took a quick running start, spread his wings, and they were off.

Five hours later they were flying through the clouds and looking over the land spread far and wide beneath them. Harry had gotten used to the gentle up and down motions of Buckbeak's beating wings and had begun to enjoy flying when Remus tapped him on the shoulder. He pointed to a tiny speck of a house about a mile in front of them and Harry began to guide Buckbeak back towards the ground.

They came to a soft landing a few moments later and received a greeting of family solidarity that even the Weasleys rarely showed. A tall man Harry could only assume was Romulous ran forward and pulled Remus into the biggest bear-hug Harry had seen anyone give, except maybe for Hagrid.

"Remus!" he called, holding Remus back at arms length. "My man, you are definitely looking good these days."

"You don't look half bad yourself Rom," Remus replied with a big smile.

"Uncle Remus!" cried two high pitched voices from their left. From the front of the house two little girls ran towards Remus as Harry began walking Buckbeak towards the back fence. As he tied Buckbeak he heard two loud claps that could only have been the girls smacking into Remus's legs and sure enough, as he looked he saw the two of them giving him a pair of huge hugs.

Beyond them came a tall beautiful blonde woman accompanied by a shorter blond version of Romulous who gave Remus a firm handshake, followed by a soft hug by the woman who was obviously the young man's mother.

"Harry," Remus began, "this is my big brother Romulous and his wife, Sarah." Harry shook both their hands in kind.

"And these two little ones," Remus said, continuing the introductions, "are Megan and Miranda. Megan here is five and Miranda is seven. Girls, say hello to Harry."

"Hello Harry," they both said in unison." Then Megan added, "What happened to your head," as she pointed to Harry's scar.

"It's a scar from when Voldemort attacked me." Romulous, Sarah, and the boy Harry assumed was their son all gasped at the sound of Voldemort's name.

"Dad, why did he have to say that name?" the boy asked while the two girls giggled. Harry assumed they were a bit too young to understand the weight behind Voldemort's name which made Harry's smile widen. He knew there was something he liked about those girls, but he didn't get a chance to figure it out before his attention was directed back to the boy by Remus.

"And this big guy here is Bastian. Bastian, this is Harry Potter."

All of the sudden, it was Colin Creevey all over again. Harry was immediately bombarded by questions about Voldemort, the different times he'd been attacked, and how he was able to escape. Luckily Romulous and Remus were able to handle him and give Harry a moment to breath.

Everyone headed inside except Harry and Bastian who brought Buckbeak to the barn at the back of the property It led into a large paddock which Remus had told Harry earlier had been charmed to stop any animals from escaping. It would also cause Buckbeak to look like a horse to anyone outside of the paddock.

As Remus had explained it to Harry on their ride over, his brother's wife was a Muggle-born who had never fully embraced the ways of the wizarding world and still believed in hard work. One of the compromises she had made with her husband in this regard was that he would do all the farming without using his wand, but she did allow him to use thestrals to help them with their chores instead of standard horses.

They brought Buckbeak into the paddock and let him loose. He didn't seem to take to the thestrals, but he didn't seem to mind much either. Harry supposed that after the long ride Buckbeak would have sat down just about anywhere so long as he was left alone.

"So how did you catch a hippogriff?" asked Bastian as there were heading back to the house.

"I didn't catch it. A friend of mine had been taking care of Buckbeak for a while, but then some people wanted to kill him, so my godfather adopted him. Then, a couple of months ago my Godfather died and I took over taking care of Buckbeak."

"Oh," he said sadly. "So that's why Uncle Remus has been staying with you?"

"Yeah. When Siri… er, my Godfather died he asked that Remus take over as my Godfather."

"Wow. Well, I guess that sounds like him. He always takes good care of those he likes, and he's always said good things about you. You should have heard him when he came by after he left Hogwarts. Boy was he proud of you. He told us all how you had conjured up a full grown Patronus and how even your dad hadn't mastered that until his second year in Auror Training."

"Yeah, he said it was a hard spell to… Wait a minute. Did you say my dad was an Auror?"

"Yeah. Well, not really, but kinda. Oh. What, you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Harry asked, beginning to panic.

What could this little boy know about his father that Harry himself did not.

Before he could ask, however, a look of total panic swept the boy's face as he blurted out quickly, "Oh no, I, I forgot something in the house. I have to go up to my room. I'll meet you at dinner," he added quickly, then ran away as fast as possible. Before Harry knew what happened, Bastian had already disappeared through the back door.

When Harry came through the back door all of his thoughts had finally settled down into a single question. He needed to know what his father did for a living. That would answer everything without him sounding too upset, confused, or anxious.

He walked up to Remus and as casually as possible he asked, "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure Harry. What's up."

"Well, I was thinking about some stuff on the way in and got to wondering. I don't know a whole lot about what you, Sirius, and my Mum and Dad did after you guys got out of school. Like, what did you all do for a living. I mean, I may not have grown up in the wizarding world, but I know a lot of money when I see it, and the money in Gringotts is a lot of money." Remus seemed to be fighting back a smile and was definitely losing.

"Actually, Harry, that's not all the money they had. That's the money they left you for school. Most of us didn't want to tell you when you were first introduced to the wizarding world because we didn't know how those Muggles would respond. However, since you're nearly of age now, I guess it's alright to tell you. On your graduation day you are going to inherit the entirety of their fortune, which I dare say, will be more money than you have ever seen in your life.

"But how did they get it all? I mean, I know they didn't inherit it from my Mum's side of the family because I wouldn't have heard the last of it from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."

"Too right. Much of the money came from your father's side of the family, though all I know about that is that his father had inherited most of his money, and I have no idea how far it goes back to. As to the rest, well, take a seat and I'll tell you about it."

Harry took a seat and waited for Remus who, at the same time, got up from his seat and got them a pair of butterbeers.

"Well, it all began about a little over two years after we all graduated. Lily and James had applied to the Magical Law Enforcement training classes and flew them quite rapidly. Normally a six month course, Lily had finished it in four and James had finished only two weeks later. Then they had a bit of an argument. Lily wanted to go to work for the Ministry working in Legal Policies. That's where they make the laws and assign what kind of penalties they come with."

"Yeah. We learned a bit about that in History of Magic," Harry said, nodding.

"Right. Well, James wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted the excitement of being an Auror. So he went into the Auror Training Academy and was flying through it. Then, three days before graduation, and trust me, James was going to graduate, he dropped out. For three weeks he wouldn't tell anyone why, not even Lily. But when we did find out, we had no choice but to forgive him. Your dad had been chosen to be on the Emergency Magical Threat Squad, or EMTS. They are to Aurors what Wizards are to Muggles."

"I've never heard of them," Harry said in a confused voice.

"There are two good reasons for that. One, the whole purpose of being an EMTS is that nobody knew there was such a thing. They were there for the worst of the worst, to take care of things even the best Aurors couldn't handle. It's the reason Mad-Eye Moody acts so odd sometimes. He was on the squad for a few years and had a breakdown after he was hit by a very powerful Memory charm. The second reason you've never heard of them is because they no longer exist. You see, there are only six members of the team at a time, and when Voldemort learned of the group he worked it so that all but one of them were on his side."  
  
"Dad." Harry said plainly.

"No, actually, it wasn't your dad. It was a young man who had just recently joined the Order. Your father had been on his three-year hiatus when this all happened. Still, the boy had been killed after an exceptionally disastrous incident. Voldemort had send several Death Eaters to attack at a Quidditch game. It wasn't the World Cup, but it was between two rival teams and there were thousands of people there. They took hundreds of hostages and brought out some Dementors who began to feast. The EMTS were called in, riding five dragons. The one kid who refused had been killed earlier. They used the dragons to attack everyone that moved. It was a disaster. After that, the remaining team was disbanded and James joined the Order. I believe you know the rest."

Harry's face was ashen. _All those people killed, just because they wanted to watch a Quidditch game._ Harry's eyes were wide, but his question hadn't been answered, at least, not totally.

"So, if he didn't work for them any more, how did he get all that money?" he asked softly.

"Well, it's a bit like those spy movies you see on TV. You don't have to work often, but you are very well paid for when you do. In the total time that he worked for the EMTS he made just over two hundred thousand Galleons. Added to the money he had inherited, he had all the money he was going to need for a long, long time. After things started getting bad, they decided to take some time off, travel the world for a while, and I guess you know the rest of that story."

"Yeah," Harry said softly. He'd never known much about his parent's lives after they left school, and he had lots more questions which he asked, and Remus was able to fill in many of the gaps. They talked for most of the afternoon and up till supper. They spent the rest of the night with Romulus's family and didn't bring it up again for the rest of the trip.

As the Sunday faded into Monday Harry learned a lot more about his godfather's family as he played with Remus's nieces and nephew. Meanwhile Remus spent most of his time indoors with his brother catching up on old times. They ate splendid homemade meals which could not be compared even to those of the great feasts at Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, Tuesday brought an accident that soured the visit quite a bit. It happened just after lunch. Harry had been helping Romulous in the fields as Remus helped Sarah and the kids in the garden.

The harness on one of the two thestrals had broken and Romulous had gone to fix it. Unfortunately a Gnome had startled the thestral just as Romulous had fastened the ropes back into place and was kicked quite hard in the chest. He flew nearly twenty feet before landing with a loud crack on his left leg.

Harry rushed over to him and helped fashion a splint over his leg, but it seemed that he might also have a broken rib and Harry didn't want to move him. He used the Sonorus charm on himself to call out for Remus and Sarah who arrived moments later and helped bring Romulous into the house. As it turned out, Romulous ended up with three broken ribs as well as the leg.

Sarah was able to easily mend the leg, but the ribs were going to require a two days rest in order to mend correctly. So Sarah, Remus, and Harry, due greatly to a great deal of persistence, each shared shifts spending time keeping Romulous company.

Harry took this time to learn as much about Remus as possible, but Romulous generally moved the subject quickly from their school days to Harry's school days, and before he knew it, Harry was telling him everything about himself that he was trying to find out about Remus. When he would point this out, Romulous would get a sudden pang of pain in his chest and ask for something to drink. Harry finally gave up after the fifth deflection and they spent the rest of their time together talking about farming the Muggle way.

Remus and Harry packed up and headed back to Grimmauld Place on Wednesday only after Romulous threatened to Jinx his brother. Of course, he also threatened to jinx him if he didn't come back more often, so Harry didn't take the threats that seriously.

They left Saturday night and didn't arrive back home until two in the morning, which meant that it was already two hours into Harry's birthday. Harry had already gotten a pair of presents from Romulous and his family which he had opened before they left. The girls had given him a new quill set engraved with each of their names while the guys had given him _Masters Of The Sky, 101 of The Greatest Quidditch Manoeuvres in History and How To Master Them In under a week_.

Harry took a deep breath as he stroked the title of the book, and not only because of the length of the name, but because of his name being listed at the bottom. He searched the pages for his name and found that he was actually included in a reference to the Wronski Feint for his flying work during the Tri-Wizard Tournament nearly two years ago.

Harry smiled as he unpacked his two presents and put them on his shelf, but he was too exhausted to do anything else. So he grabbed his medallion, dragged himself over to the bed, and began his Occlumency exercises, but it was no use. He was out even before his head had hit the pillow.

They were all duelling again, and this time it looked like Harry's team would actually win. But just as Harry had looked over to see Sirius deliver a perfect jellylegs jinx to Helga Hufflepuff, Harry had been hit hard with a disarming spell he hadn't seen coming and went flying back, impossibly far back, up and over the trees of the Forbidden Forest, and landed hard on his back.

Everything began to fade in and out like a TV show whose reception that wasn't quite coming in. One moment he was in the forest alone, then surrounded by everyone, then they were all inside some kind of underground cave, and then he was alone again. For a moment everything seemed to come into focus and he took a look around. It looked like he was in a miniature stone version of the Great Hall.

Behind the large table he had been laying on were four niches dug into the wall with the emblem of each Hogwarts house carved into them. Harry could see at Gryffindor's niche the Sorting hat and the sword he had used against the basilisk during his second year. As he looked around he saw Helga Hufflepuff with all sorts of potions, while the Slytherin niche looked almost barren except for a large emerald Staff. The only thing in Ravenclaws niche was a book placed gently on a huge bed of singing flowers.

Harry took a step forward take a better look at the sword, but as he stepped forward he felt his eyes become heavy as lead as he fall backwards, only to land with a soft bounce. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in bed at Grimmauld Place, and though it was a totally bizarre dream, he felt completely at peace and fell back to sleep almost immediately, and slept undisturbed for the rest of the night.

Harry woke up the next morning only to find it was closer to afternoon than morning. He signed softly, wanting nothing more than to be able to go back to sleep and not wake up until tomorrow morning. But after lying awake in bed for half an hour he knew he would not be able to sleep away the day and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Just as he walked through the kitchen door he was attacked by Dobby who was wearing a very colourful paper hat. "Happy Birthday Harry Potter, Sir!" he called loudly.

"Thank you Dobby," he said with a big smile as he patted Dobby on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot."

Well, he's not the only one who wants to say Happy Birthday," added Remus who was also wearing a paper hat. He quickly stood up from the breakfast table and came to give Harry a big Birthday hug.

"Now, I know that most of your friends weren't able to come by, but I wanted to make sure that you did enjoy yourself, so I thought we might go out to London today and have a little fun. In fact, I've set up a little surprise for you that I think you might like."

"Okay," Harry said uncertainly.

Breakfast was over quickly and before he knew it, Harry was in the fireplace on his way to the Leaky Cauldron. He headed up to the bar and retrieved a small bag from Tom, the bartender. Tom then looked over past Remus and called out, "Having a good Birthday Harry?"

If looks could kill, Harry would be on his way to Azkaban right now. It took less than ten seconds for him to be surrounded by people wishing him a happy birthday and either asking him how school was working out for him or asking him what You-Know-Who looked like. Thankfully Remus was able to pull him out before Harry was completely lost in the crowd and they headed outside.

Once they were out on the street Remus hailed a cab and a few moments later they were off towards the countryside. They were in the cab for half an hour before they came to a stop at the bottom of a slight hill. Harry couldn't see anything but grass and trees in all directions and couldn't figure out what they were doing out here, and neither could the driver, but Remus seemed quite excited about being here.

After they got out he looked over at Harry and smiled broadly. "Happy Birthday, Harry. I've got a surprise for you, but first, I thought you might want this." He pulled the small bag from his robe and opened it up. From it he pulled a ragged old broom and, to Harry's surprise, his own Firebolt, polished to perfection and looking as it did when he first saw it two Christmases ago.

"Wow, it looks great," he exclaimed.

"Oh, my boy. That's nothing compared to what's on the other side of that hill there," he said pointing in front of them. He mounted his own broom and called, "Follow me, and prepare yourself," he added with a wide smile.

"They took off up towards the top of the hill, and just as he was reaching the top he could begin to hear faint sounds which resembled human voices. As he reached the top of the hill, he found the sources of those voices. The voices belonged to the Chudley Cannons Quidditch Team.

Harry's jaw nearly hit his broom as he gawked at the team while they continued to practice. A few moments later a whistle was heard from somewhere off to Harry's right. He turned to see an older gentleman the team coach being joined by the whole of the team before leading them all over to...

"Harry Potter!" called the coach. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sam Jamison, and this is, well, everyone. Everyone, I'm sure you're all familiar with Harry Potter." Everyone nodded and smiled, but to Harry's gratitude they didn't rush him, but formed a line and each came up and shook his hand, introducing themselves and wishing him a Happy Birthday.

Harry noticed that there were several new faces to the team this year. He did recognise Keeper Blake Baxton and the backup seeker from last year, Sylvia Trienmark, along with the Fanta twins, Florna and Florence, who both played chaser. The rest of the team took turns introducing themselves.

After introductions were completed, the team split up into two with Harry playing as seeker for one side, staring down Sylvia at the other end. Sam blew the whistle and the game began.

It was like a dream, flying with some of the best players of the game. They played for two hours. It had been Harry who had seen the Snitch first, but he was a bit farther away from it than Sylvia was, and they were on opposite sides of the field. They both dove for it at the same time, but by the time they were within ten feet of the Snitch it was flying right at her. Harry sped up as fast as he could and reached out his hand with all his might, but the Snitch dove out of his reach and straight into Sylvia's waiting hand.

Everyone met down at centre field and celebrated. It didn't matter which team had won because they were all on the same team. Sam came down last and addressed the team. Harry made to leave as he didn't want to intrude, but Sam insisted that he stay.

"No need for you to leave, Harry. You played as well as anyone else on the team so I figure you got a right to sit in on the team meeting. Now then. We're doing very good on offence, but we definitely need to beef up our defence. It's nice to see such high scores, but eighty percent of those goals were made off the return of another goal. We need to start working harder on regaining possession of the Quaffle. If we can start getting possession away from the other teams, we might have a good run this coming year."

The team cheered and started getting pumped up. They went over a few more tips, then broke for the day. Each of them then huddled around Harry and spent the next hour talking about Hogwarts and Quidditch and half a dozen other subjects which he couldn't remember. Just being around them was so intoxicating that he was sure tomorrow that he would think back on this as a hazy dream.

When it was time for everyone to go home, Harry was presented with a large box filled with a pair of orange robes with the infamous cannon ball and double Cs. There were also two copies of _Flying With The Cannons_ signed by each of the team members, along with signed pictures of each of the players, a team picture, and Harry's favourite, a team picture with him in his Cannons Robe standing in the middle of the team, also signed.

As he was saying goodbye to everyone Sam pulled him aside and handed him a replica of a Golden Snitch.

"Harry, if you ever want to come by again for another practice just send me an owl and I'll reply with our next scheduled practice time and password. This Snitch here is set as a portkey and you'll have a fifteen-minute window from the scheduled time to say the password to activate it. Just remember to get permission first, as it won't bring you back for another six hours and we wouldn't want to get you in trouble. And if your friend Ron and his brothers can get permission we'd love to have them.

"Thanks, Sam. I've had a thoroughly wonderful time. I can't imagine how I can ever thank you."

"Oh, Harry. You've taken out You-Know-Who for fifteen years, then let us know the moment he returned. I'd say that we are still greatly in your debt, and that is a debt I doubt any of us can ever repay, but it would be my pleasure to do whatever I can to try." It was a bit of a sore subject, talking about Voldemort and all, especially on his birthday, but Harry was sure that Sam had meant it all as a compliment and he tried to take it that way.

"Well, I thank you for everything, and I'll try to come by whenever I can. I could probably come by during the Hogsmeade visits, and I know Ron will love to come too, though I don't know about the twins. All they ever seem to do is work on their store and, well anyways, I'll see what I can do. And thanks again for everything. This has got to be the best Birthday Present I've ever gotten."

"It's no problem at all. Now, I've got to get home before Marguerite gets all huffy for my coming home late from practice."

They shook hands and Harry grabbed his bag and flew back up to the top of the hill where Remus was standing. He resisted the urge to jump of the broom and give Remus a huge hug, and instead smiled broadly and said, "Thanks. This was the best present anyone's ever given me."

"It was a pleasure. You know, you really gave them a run for their money. I wouldn't at all be surprised if you ended up on a pro team some day."

"I don't know about that, but it was fun."

Remus smiled back at him, and Harry's smile broadened as well. After a few moments they headed back down the hill where, to Harry's surprise, another cab was parked there, just waiting for them. They packed their things in the trunk and headed back to London.

It was just after six when they popped out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place. Remus gave his broom to Harry and asked him to bring it down with him to the basement broom closet.

Harry opened the door to the basement and found all the lights turned out. He whipped out his wand and called, "Lumos," and took a few steps down. He heard the door close behind him and his wand immediately lost all but a foot of light. He stood still for a moment and listened for any noise. He heard none, but there was still something not right. His Lumos spell should have had more effect. He backtracked his steps to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He cast Alohomora on it with no effect.

_Well_, he thought, _All__ I have to do is get to the fireplace. From there I can Floo back upstairs and get Remus_.

He started downstairs, his wand at the ready, just in case. Just as he hit the bottom of the stairs he heard a faint sound from his left before the lights came back on with blinding brightness. He heard it before he could focus his eyes, and at once he knew what he had walked into.

"SURPRISE!" came a roar from throughout the room.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, Harry began to make out faint shapes of what was unmistakably Ron. A few moments later he was able to make out Dudley standing next to Hermione, and to her left were the twins and Lee Jordan, and behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, half of the Order Members, and most of the sixth year Gryffindors, and to Harry's great surprise, Cho Chang.

Every one of Harry's friends were there, and even Professor McGonagall and Flitwick had come, as well as Snape, though it looked like he had been threatened with everything short of being fired if he didn't come. And then he saw Snape's motivator, Professor Dumbledore, standing behind him with a huge smile on his face.

There had to be thirty people in all, and to Harry's shock, right there in the back was Remus, just standing there with a huge smile on his face. Harry could tell by the soot on the shoulders of his robe how he had gotten down here.

For a few moments Harry just stood there, shocked and perplexed by the huge turnout to what was obviously a very intricately planned Surprise Party for him. Then the embarrassment set in, and he could feel his cheeks flush.

Thankfully, Ron took the first step forward and gave Harry a big slap on the shoulder and wished him a Happy Birthday.

"Come on, mate. You didn't actually think we'd forget about your birthday now did ya?"

"Happy birthday, Harry," added Hermione, and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Soon the crowd had converged on him and he was getting hugs and kisses from all the girls and slaps and handshakes from the guys. As more people said their Happy Birthdays he became oddly aware of just how many friends he had. It seemed to go on for hours, saying hello to everyone who had come.

Finally he made it through the group, the last of whom were the Professors. Snape gave him a simple Handshake, where Hagrid had given him a huge bear-hug that nearly split him in two. McGonagall restrained herself to a handshake, though she did so with a much bigger smile than normally seen, and finally Dumbledore who also shook his hand and wore the broadest smile of them all.

"Happy Birthday, Harry. It looks like you've gotten yourself quite a collection of friends. You can feel a lot of love in this room."

"Yeah. I'll bet that somewhere out there, right now, Voldemort's screaming his head off."

Dumbledore gave a slight chuckle. "You know, I wouldn't doubt it."

Harry turned and looked around and found the far right corner of the basement stacked at least six feet high with presents. The twins had begun to chant "Speech! Speech! Speech!" so Harry turned around and smiled at them.

"Wow. Well, I'm not really good at speeches, but I want to thank you all for coming. I can't believe you all went through this much trouble for me, but I have to say that you all have made this by far the best birthday I've ever had. Knowing that I have friends like you all, well it just makes me know that everything's going to turn out just fine." Harry could feel his stomach tighten up and he knew if he said much more he'd break down, so he finished quite abruptly.

"So, anyway. I famished. Is there anything to eat?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said and, clapping his hands as he did with the start of term feast and five large tables lowered themselves down from the roof which were already full of food and beverages.

Everyone sat down and dug in. Harry was so famished that he hadn't noticed that he, Ron and Hermione had been directed to sit down at the same table which would have corresponded to the head table back at Hogwarts.

When things had settled down from dinner, Ron stood up and made a toast in Harry's honour.

"To the best friend I ever had. You've been through more in the past sixteen years than most people go through in a lifetime, and you rarely complain about it. Well, okay, so you complain about it all the time." A few people around the tables gave a soft chuckled. "But you've always been there whenever we needed you, and we all thought that we'd come around and be here for you. So tonight, Harry, is your night, and we all wanted you to know that if you ever needed us, we're here for yah pal."

Harry stood and gave Ron a quick friendly hug, his eyes getting more than a little misty.

"To Harry," Ron added, holding up his pumpkin juice. Everyone raised their glasses in salute. After they all had a quick drink, Ron spoke up once again. "And now, it's time to see what goodies we have in store for our guest of honour." Ron turned and pointed to the stack of presents.

And so Harry began opening his presents. The twins gave him a large gold-plated chest, inside of which was their latest invention, The Ultimate Sweets Supply. It was basically a square two foot chest with at least two dozen keyholes. Put the key into a keyhole and it would be filled to the brim with one particular sweet. Unlock different lock and get a different treat. Ginny gave him a Diary with a beautiful hand painted Phoenix on the front. "Don't worry, it's a hundred percent safe," she said with a shy smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave him a nice set of new robes, and he was surprised and happy to see that Percy had joined them and gave Harry a new copy of _The Pre-Auror Handbook_ which Harry took with a smile.

Ron gave him a new quickdraw arm holster he'd seen in The Daily Prophet. To Harry's surprise, Hermione had given him not a book, but what looked like a fish tank, only where he expected to see fishes swimming around he saw instead fifteen little figures flying around on brooms. And when he looked more closely he could see the Quaffles and Bludgers flying around. And at the base of the tank was a wide plaque with the moving pictures that followed the snitch and both Seekers. Harry jumped up and gave Hermione the biggest hug of her life.

Cho gave him a beautiful magical watch which had six small jewels, each of which activated a different small charm. It would change from a watch to a compass, a miniature Sneakoscope , a locket with her picture in it, a change purse, and a large white stone which he couldn't figure out.

"It's an emergency beacon. Just press it and it lets out a loud screeching sound that everyone but you will hear. It also conjures a sphere of light which hovers over you for ten minutes. I figured it might help if you ever get into trouble like last..." She seemed to blush a bit at having brought up Cedric again, but she still bent over and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday Harry.

He held his cheek for a moment, thinking about his time with Cho over the past two years. Maybe he could give things another try with her when they all got back to school.

He continued to open the presents and found himself more and more surprised by the different gifts people would give him. Some of the girls would give him nice outfits, all sorts of extras for Hedwig, and several different books. The boys, on the other hand, would give him Quidditch equipment and games, and Dudley gave him a nice silver and gold Chess set.

Lastly, he picked up the presents from his Professors. McGonagall gave him a beautiful book _Redecorating__ Your Home with Ten Basic Spells_. Snape gave him a new bronze cauldron for his Potions area in the basement, which was no surprise to Harry. Then Dumbledore gave him a beautiful new Pensieve and book on how to properly use it.

After all the presents were given out the party continued for another hour and a half. Many of the students wanted to meet Dudley, and after it got out that he was both a Slyder and Harry's cousin he became swamped with students asking him questions about everything from what it was like to grow up with Harry to how he became a wizard and everything in between.

Finally around eight people started to leave and by nine it was down to the Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, and of course, Remus. They all sat down upstairs in the living room for a spot of tea. That's when Remus came out with one last present.

"Harry," he began with a soft voice, "I hadn't planned on giving this to you so soon, but I think you've shown that you are ready for it now." He looked up at Dumbledore who gave him the slightest of nods with a sparkle glinting in his eyes.

He held up a very large and but thin package and placed it on the fireplace mantle. "I think it might be best if you have a sit down for this one and closed your eyes."

Harry gave him an unsure look but sat down in the armchair all the same, leaned back, and closed his eyes. After a few moments passed he could hear the wrapping paper falling off the present. He smiled as he imagined what might be in store for him. Silence filled the room and for a moment Harry started to wonder if everyone had left when someone spoke up and he could feel his heart come to a sudden stop.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," came the familiar voice. All thoughts about what his present might be flew out the window.

His eyes flew open and he jumped to his feet. His head was spinning and darting from one place to another as he searched for the person he knew could not be there. But every face he saw smiling and looking not at him, but at the fireplace. His eyes followed theirs and came to rest on the mantle in front of him, and his jaw hit the floor.

His eyes flooded with tears as he stared at his unwrapped gift. He could feel a lump the size of a pumpkin in his throat and his breathing was coming in short burst, but he was able to get out a single word.

"Sirius?"

-=--=- 

Coming Soon

Chapter 9

Untold Stories


	9. Chapter 9 Untold Stories

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 9

Untold Stories

His eyes flooded with tears as he stared at his unwrapped gift. He could feel a lump the size of a pumpkin in his throat and his breathing was coming in short bursts, but he was able to get out a single word.

"Sirius?"

"Hello Harry. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Though his voice was soft and mostly monotone, it was obvious that Sirius was more than a bit nervous at addressing his godson.

"Sirius. But how. I thought you were…"

"Harry, I'd like to take a moment to explain everything, and then I'll answer any questions you have." Harry just stared back at Sirius and gave a slight nod, having no idea on how else to respond.

"First, Harry, I want you to understand something. Sirius Black is dead. Were he not dead, I would not be speaking to you now." Harry's confusion was worn plainly on his face, but Sirius continued on. "You see, Harry, portraits like this one, and the ones at Hogwarts, are all self portraits made by people who want to leave a part of themselves behind in case they die. It's quite similar actually to the magic used in the diary of Tom Riddle. And in making a portrait you create a duplicate of yourself that you can leave behind for those you love."

"So, you made this portrait for me?"

"Yes. The past year had me cooped up in this house and I knew I would probably end up doing something stupid that might get me killed, so I decided that before I let that happen I would make this portrait so that when I died, you would still have a part of me left to talk to. But I want you to remember a few things. When I made this portrait I decided that you would not have a portrait as a godfather. I wanted you to have someone who could watch over you whenever and wherever you needed. That's why I had asked Remus to take over those duties for me. But I did want to still be here in case you needed me for anything."

"So you don't want to be my godfather anymore?" Harry said, obviously hurt.

"Harry, it's not that I don't want to be your godfather," he said, his monotone voice beginning to wane. "But something you must understand that though I look and sound the same, I am not the Sirius that you know. What you see before you is an echo of your godfather, and I cannot provide you with what you need from a godfather. That's why Remus has taken you to his family's home, brought you shopping at Diagon Alley, and ridden Buckbeak with you. He can do what I cannot. All I can do is talk to you and offer some advice, and you need more than that, especially now. But I will still be here for you when you need me."

As everything Sirius said had come together in his mind, Harry began to understand what it meant, and his stomach bottomed out. It was like losing Sirius all over again. For a fleeting moment he'd thought that his godfather had come back, and now he felt as though he'd lost him all over again. But he hadn't. Not really. He'd been given a chance to keep in touch with Sirius, even if he couldn't be here with him.

After a few moments of silence he swallowed deeply, raised his head back up to Sirius, and smiled. "Well, I'm glad to have you back," he said with a firm nod and smile.

Sirius just smiled back for a moment, then looked over to his right expectantly. Harry followed his gaze over to Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry. I know how you might be feeling right now and I want you to know that it is not unusual for people to become a bit confounded when they first receive a portrait of a loved one. The one piece of advice I can give you is to think of this as a way to remember a friend who has moved away forever to a place you can never visit, but you can always speak to him through his picture the same way you might use a telephone."

Harry nodded having come to basically the same conclusion himself. But all he really cared about was that he still had some essence of Sirius back, even if it were locked behind the wall of a picture.

"Remember what I said to you during your first year, about the Mirror of Erised?" Harry nodded. "Well, the same goes for portraits like this. It's wonderful to be able to speak to them, as I do every day with the paintings on my walls back at Hogwarts. But do not forget that as a part of them still lives on in their paintings, so must you continue to live the life you have to it's fullest. It is similar, I suppose, to the Mirror of Erised in that respect, only more so, as Sirius painted that portrait so he may guide you in your life, not take it away from you. Remember his gift while continuing to live your own life, and never will you dishonour his memory."

"I think I understand, sir," he replied.

Dumbledore smiled broadly. "I'm sure of it," he replied simply.

After a few moments he turned his attention over to Remus for the first time since he had heard Sirius's voice. He walked slowly over to him, his arm stretched out to shake his hand, but somewhere in the few feet that stood between them the one hand became two and he embraced Remus into a tight hug, tears again rolling freely down his face.

They stood there for a few moments, until finally it began to feel a bit uncomfortable and stepped apart. Harry looked back up at both of his godfathers and smiled.

"Thank you. I don't think I could have asked for anything for my birthday as wonderful as this." He looked back up at Sirius and saw a single tear roll down his cheek. "And thank you for doing this for me, Sirius. I don't imagine it would have been an easy to do."

"You know, Harry, I can remember everything in my life up to the day I made the final stroke on this portrait, and the one thing I can remember more clearly than anything else is how much I wanted to make sure that you would never lose another person you cared for so long as you lived, at least not completely. I'll always be here for you if you need me. Even once you get to school. Remus has agreed to place one of our larger mirrors across the room there, so any time you need me you can reach me through that mirror, but don't ask me to help you cheat on a test, unless it's potions of course," he added with a wink.

Dumbledore seemed to have caught a cough just then, though it only lasted a moment before he spoke up again.

"Well, I believe that it is time for us to take our leave. Harry, I'll see you back at Hogwarts, and I do expect that you will continue your homework," he said with a smile.

"Yes sir. I've been making some real progress over the past few weeks."

"As I have heard from Severus. And I was also glad to hear that you decided to take on the Duelling Classes. I am sure that many of the parents and students will be happy to hear it."

"Thank you sir. Ron and Hermione are helping me work on different duelling techniques. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

"Yeah. We've been going over loads of spells and stuff," added Ron just before Hermione gave him a nudge.

"Indeed. By the way, I took the liberty of drawing up a few possible schedules that might help you in your first few weeks, and our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be able to help you as well if you have any need of him."

Harry was about to ask Dumbledore who the new DADA teacher would be, but Dumbledore was speaking quickly and didn't give him much of a chance.

"Now, Minerva, I believe we have bit of work to do over the next month, getting Harry's new classroom ready, and I still need to take care of that situation with Mundungus, so if you don't mind, I'll meet you back at the school."

"Thank you Professor," she replied. "I will see you as soon as I finish speaking to Mr. Potter here."

Dumbledore smiled back at her, excused himself to Sirius, stepped into the fireplace, and disappeared.

"Now then," McGonagall said in her normally gruff voice, "since I have you all here, I would like to go over a quick exercise with the three of you. If you are all going to be practising to be Animagi, we need to get started as quickly as possible. In addition, I want each of you over the next month to practice each of these exercises on yourselves."

She handed each of them a small parchment outlining five lessons on changing basic aspects of their appearance.

"Remember, becoming an Animagus takes more discipline than any other aspect of magic because you are truly bending the laws of nature. So, tonight I want each of you to work on one thing; something which is actually quite simple once you get used to it. I want you to each look into a mirror and practice changing the colour of your eyes. At first it will happen quite abruptly, and this is to be expected, and it is very likely that you will be charming them, not actually changing the colours on your own. However, as you continue working on it over the next few weeks you will begin to actually alter their colour, and that's the first sign that you are doing it right. After that, it's all a matter of practice."

"Right Professor," said Hermione eagerly. "How often should we work on it; five times a day, six, seven…"

"Twice a day for ten minutes ought to do it for now, Miss Granger. Also, Mr. Potter, since you will be teaching a class this year in addition to everything else, I have arranged for you to be exempted from both Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Also, as this is your sixth year, you are not required to take History of Magic, though you have been given an exception to take Advanced Potions if you choose, and I would highly suggest you take advantage of Professor Snape's generosity in letting you take his class. He doesn't usually allow sixth and seventh years to take his course unless they did exceptionally well in his class. And before you ask, Mr. Weasley, he has invited you to come back as well, and I expect you will be taking his class as well."

"He will if I have anything to say about it," added Mrs. Weasley, "and I dare say I'll have a lot more to say about it if you don't."

"Yes Mum," replied Ron in a depressed sort of tone.

"And don't you take that tone with me young man. You've still got a month at home and I can make sure it's the longest holiday of your life." Dreading saying anything else that might upset her, he simply nodded in agreement.

"Finally, Mr. Potter, a word of advice when you begin term as a new Professor. Take charge of the class quickly and be sure to point out that everyone is equal in your classes, be they Slytherins, Gryffindors, or anyone else. I expect if you do so you will find everything will run quite smoothly."

"I think I get what you're saying," he replied, nodding his head.

"Good. Well then, I must be off. I've got a long night ahead of me. And remember, it would be a great deal of help if you were to decide on your Animagus forms by the start of term."

"Yes Professor," they all said in unison.

"Well, good day to you all, and do say hello to Charlie and Bill for me, won't you Molly?"

Mrs. Weasley gave her a big smile and nod, then looked over at Ron and said, "Well, I think it's time we were off too. Ron, I expect to see you home Friday evening? And Harry dear, Happy birthday again, and thanks for having us."

"Yes, thank you a great deal Harry," added Mr. Weasley. "You've become quite a strapping young lad. You keep this up and we might be giving you a call in a couple of years for Auror training."

"Thank you sir."

And so everyone filed out into the fireplace until it was just Harry, Remus, Ron, Hermione, and Sirius. Since Sirius hadn't been around over the past few weeks everyone helped catch him up with the times. He seemed really intent on finding out what was going on with the new Duelling Class and they were more than willing to oblige. By midnight everyone but Harry had gone up to bed, leaving him alone with Sirius.

Even though it was getting late and Harry had just had one of the longest days of his life, neither he nor Sirius were feeling the least bit tired. They continued on into the night talking about Voldemort and Animagus training and his continuing the DA with Snape as his co-teacher.

"I'd watch out if I were you. He may be working for our side, but you don't have to be a Death Eater to make trouble. If you need any help, I've got several books on fighting the Dark Arts and Duelling."

"Yeah. I found those upstairs when we were cleaning out the attic."

"Oh, Harry. You haven't found a thing that really matters, except maybe some of those pictures and my lockbox. But all the really important things are at the Lupin's. They were the ones I last lived with. Last I heard Lupin still had my chest over there. That's where you'll find everything that meant the world to me. Trust me, there you will find spellbooks that will drive Snape absolutely bonkers."

Harry's eyes lit up at the idea of having one up on Snape. He begged for more.

"Well, you found those notes I had on spells that the three of us were working on, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, those were all fake. They were for one of many jokes we had played on people over the years. You see, we would take spells and potions that would do one thing, adjust them just a bit, then write on the notes that they did something completely different. Then we'd leave them around the common room and watch the fun."

He started laughing and telling Harry of some of their better pranks.

"Oh, James had come up with some fun ones too, I can tell you. The best one, I tell you it was hilarious, James had set up all but two basic potion ingredients for a Polyjuice potion and left it boiling saying it would increase your fame ten fold. Well, believe me when I tell you it did. Old Barty Crouch Junior was the unfortunate soul who had stumbled upon it and, of course he finished mixing the ingredients. The final ingredients were listed as hairs from an Albino Rat. Well, he drank it just before going to dinner, and when he walked through the doors, everyone look at him in amazement. It seemed everyone was shocked to see him except us and Professor Dumbledore. Can you guess why?"

"You didn't," Harry shouted in awe.

"The heck we didn't. Here comes Barty Crouch Junior. strutting his stuff like he owns the place not knowing he's taken on the appearance of the great Albus Dumbledore with Dumbledore sitting at the head table right there in front of him. And wouldn't you know the dolt just nods right over to Dumbledore and takes a seat and starts eating. That's when he finally noticed he had a three foot long beard. He holds up a spoon and looks at his reflection and turns white as snow. I'll tell you, we laughed about that for years. Even today I think about it and can't stop smiling for a week."

"My lord. You three were worse than Fred and George."

"Well, we tried. But I've got to tell you, that trick with the swamp in the west hall sounded awfully nice to me."

"But still. What else did you do?"

And it continued like that for another four hours until they were finally too exhausted to speak. Harry bid Sirius a welcome home and goodnight before heading up to bed for sleep. He practised his exercises that night but fell asleep before he had done anything worth while.

Sirius's medallion lay on his dresser.

That night Harry had another bizarre dream.

He was walking through a dark corridor and into a large cavern. It was nothing like the last cavern where the Hogwarts founders had brought him. This place had a coldness about it that made his skin crawl.

As he came out into the light he saw three figures huddled together over a small table eating dinner. As he drew closer he could begin to make out some of their conversation.

"We need to start making an impact," came one voice. "Our numbers are growing every week, but if we don't start taking some action I fear that some will begin to think you are not as powerful as you once were."

"Blasphemy," cried a voice Harry hadn't heard in over a year. But he knew which of the figures had uttered them, as he could see the silver hand of Peter Pettigrew on the right side of the table. "The Master has his own plans and he will do as he sees fit. It is not up to you to tell him what to do."

"No," came the high pitched voice that Harry recognised all too well. "Our young friend here is right. It is time that we began displaying our power over the rest of the wizarding world. Now that we have so many on our side, it is time that we began to show the world who is in charge here."

"Of course sir. We have many ready to sign up sir. Several students from Hogwarts have already…"

"Shut up, you fool," came Voldemort's voice. The man in the middle stood, and for the first time in two months, Harry looked at the face of the man responsible for so many deaths in his life.

Voldemort searched around the room, looking for something, and Harry had a good idea what that something was. Then, after a few moments, he closed his eyes and put on a face that told Harry that Voldemort was concentrating on something. Then, suddenly, his eyes flew open, and to Harry's Horror, Voldemort was staring right back at him.

"Well, well. If it isn't the great Harry Potter."

Harry was horrified. He couldn't feel his heartbeat, and he could swear he could feel his life slipping away from him.

"Well, if I had known I was having such a prestigious guest I would have cleaned up the place," he said waving his hand around. The other two men stood and started searching around for Harry, though it seemed they could not see him.

"Unfortunately, I have some things I must discuss with my associates here, so I'm afraid I must show you the door." He waved his hand to his right, and before Harry knew what was happening he had turned as was zooming straight for an open door and into a blinding light, and his scar began to burn. it was on fire, and Harry was sure his brain was going to explode.

Harry's eyes burst open. The pain in his scar was unbearable, he was sweating profusely, and he was quite sure that at any moment his heart would burst through his chest. A moment later he heard a loud pop as someone Apparated into his room. It was Remus.

"Harry," he said between short breaths, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" he said shortly. His head was throbbing and his senses were going crazy.

"What happened? I could hear you screaming from my room."

"It was Voldemort," he said flatly.

"He was here, at the house?" Remus exclaimed, his was out.

"No. It was another dream. I didn't do my Occlumency training last night, and I ended up dreaming about him. But this time was different. I think we've… Ouch."

"What is it? Is he trying to…"  
  
"No. No. It's nothing. It just hurts like bloody hell. And he's pissed."

"Voldemort?" Remus asked blindly.

"Yeah. I don't think he's happy about me seeing what I saw, or at least what he thinks I saw."

"What did you see?" he replied anxiously.

"Not a whole lot really. It looked like he was living in a cave that had been made into some kind of underground castle or something, and I saw Pettigrew there with someone else. I didn't catch who he was. But he did say that it's about time that they started making trouble again."

"Yes. We've been expecting that for a while now. I'll have to let Dumbledore know."

Harry nodded, which brought on a second wave of pain which stopped him short. Then he heard a loud crack which split his head in two.

"Sorry," said Remus, handing him a large piece of chocolate.

Harry bit into it quickly and started to chew. His head began to pound even harder with each bite, but it did seem to calm down a bit a few moments later.

"Can you do me a favour?" he asked Remus, still wincing every few seconds.

"Of course. What do you need?"

"Could you give me that book over there on my desk? And the medallion too, if you could."

Remus went over to the desk, picked up the book and medallion, and brought it over to Harry who had been sitting up with his legs crossed. He opened the book to the chapter on self healing through meditation. Then he picked up the medallion and placed it over his head.

A rush of calmness spread over his entire body. In seconds all the pain and headache was gone, and he felt remarkably refreshed.

"Whoa," he said with a smile. "That was bizarre."

"What now?" he asked.

"Well, I was going to try some of the meditation exercises to clear my head, and recently I've been using this medallion as a focus point. But this time when I put it on my head just cleared up all on its own."

"Hmm. Harry, I think you should take that medallion off until we can find out where it came from."

"But that's easy. We can just go down and ask Sirius. It was his after all."

"Right. Good thinking."

They both headed downstairs and into the living room to find Sirius wide awake.

"What's going on up there? I heard Harry scream out and…"

"It's alright Sirius. Harry's fine. He just had another episode and Voldemort, well; I'll explain it all in moment. Right now, I need to know, where did you get this from." He held the medallion up so that Sirius could take a look at it. A wide smile stretched across his face.

"Cindy Cattrell," He said with a soft sigh. "Oh what a woman."

"Who?" said Harry, looking up at Remus. But Remus had the same glazed look on his face, as though intoxicated by his thoughts.

"Oh, Cindy. Beautiful, wonderful Cindy. She was Head Girl During our Fifth years at Hogwarts and, oh my was she a looker. And you dated her, didn't you?" said Remus with a slight tinge of jealousy in his voice.

"You know it. It was after that spat she had with her boyfriend, what was his name. Johnsten? Something like that. Anyways, we dated for about six months, and she gave me that medallion there as a birthday present. Quite nice. I only wore it for a little bit because we broke up when I discovered that she had been, how do I put it…"

"Shagging someone else?" added Harry before he could stop himself.

"Well, I don't know if I'd put it just like that, but yes. She had gone back to her old boyfriend. I offered to give that back to her, but she said that it was a present and that I should keep it. I wore it a few times, but it kind of gave me the creeps, tell you the truth. Of course, if I knew then what I knew now, well, I might have worn it a bit more."

"Why's that? What's it do exactly?"

"Well, I don't know everything about it. Nobody does, really. But from what James and I found out, we thought it might be one of the four medallions of Hogwarts."

"The what?" asked Harry.

"The four medallions of Hogwarts. I don't know much about them other than they were made by the founders of Hogwarts. The one you got there was made by Rowena Ravenclaw. When they finished them, they each instilled a permanent charm on their medallions which would best represent themselves. From what we could gather, that one gives it's wearer a clearer mind. It was great for headaches, but I forgot all about it when I was in Azkaban."

"Oh." Harry looked down at the medallion in awe. "So this was made by Rowena Ravenclaw. I'll bet I don't stop hearing about this from Hermione for weeks."

"I don't doubt it," Sirius laughed. "I wager she'll be up for the next three weeks until she finds out everything there is to know about it."

"That's our Hermione," Harry replied with a chuckle.

They continued to talk for another half hour about the medallion and Harry's dream, which of course reminded Remus that he needed to contact Dumbledore.

"I'll do it," Sirius said, jumping in. "I've been waiting for an excuse to drop by for a while now," he added with a mischievous look.

And so Remus and Harry headed back to bed for the night, and Harry was sure to spend over half an hour doing exercises before finally allowing himself to sleep.

The next morning started bright and early with a tapping on Harry's window. He opened his eyes groggily, sat up, and opened the window for the bright white owl. For a moment he thought he was seeing double, as Hedwig was still in her cage, but he quickly realised that this owl was much smaller than Hedwig and had a large black stripe down its back.

He tore off the envelope and gave the owl a treat before it took off back to wherever it had come from, which he soon found out was Hogwarts.

Dumbledore had written him a letter.

Harry,

Sirius has told me about your dream. First I want to thank you for letting me know. It confirms many things that we have suspected over the past few weeks. However, it is not good news at all that he was able to pick you out in his mind. That means that he is more prepared than ever to try to manipulate you if and when your two minds meet. You must promise me that you will continue to work on your Occlumency exercises no matter what the occasion. I am not trying to chastise you, Harry, but it is very important that we stop him from being able to take control of the link you two share.

I will speak to you more when you come back to school, but until then please continue your exercises, and I would suggest that you keep that medallion close to you whenever you go to sleep. If it is the same medallion I believe it to be, it may be a strong deterrent against Voldemort using Legilimency against you. And remember what I said about Professor Snape. He is here to help, if you will let him.

Thank you again for informing me of your dream, and please inform me if you have any more dreams between now and August.

Yours truly,

Professor Albus Dumbledore

Harry took a deep breath. Dumbledore knew something that he wasn't saying. Harry could tell by what he had said in the letter.

_I would suggest that you keep that medallion close to you whenever you go to sleep. If it is the same medallion I believe it to be, it may be a strong deterrent from Voldemort from using Legilimency against you._

That sure sounded like he knew something to him. But what did he know?

He quickly got on his robe and headed to Hermione's room and knocked. No answer. He knocked again, and again got no answer. He was about to knock for a third time when she came up from the stairs.

"Good morning Harry," She said brightly.

"We've got to talk," he stated bluntly. "Where's Ron?"

"He's in his room getting dressed," she replied.

He didn't say a word, but walked over to Ron's room and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute, Hermione. Jeez, you'd think it was an emergency to…"

"Ron, it's me," Harry interrupted, "Meet us in my room as quick as you can," and headed to his room before Ron had a chance to reply.

The moment they walked through his door Hermione began to bombard him with questions, but he put an end to it quickly.

"I'll explain everything when Ron gets here."

"But…"

"Just hold on a moment. He'll be here in a second, and then I'll tell you everything."

At that moment Ron walked through the door.

"What's up Harry?" he asked

"I think you'd better sit down for this," he said with a sigh.

Harry was afraid that they might panic, but he had no idea. By the time he had finished telling them about his dream and what Sirius had said about the medallion, they were as pale as ghosts. They both started talking at once.

"You-Know-Who is going to start attacking again?" said Ron while Hermione asked in awe, "That medallion belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw?"

"Hold on," he replied, trying to calm them down. "Yes, Voldemort is going to start up again, and yeah, this did belong to Ravenclaw. And that's not the only thing. I think there's a lot more to this medallion than just it helping to block out Voldemort's attacks."

"How can you be talking about a stupid medallion when You-know… Alright, Voldemort," he relented with a shiver under Hermione's gaze, "is going to start attacking people again."

"Because I have to keep him out of my head, or else I'm going to go crazy. Between the pains I get when he attacks my dreams and the information he could get while I'm asleep, I need every advantage I can get. But that's not all. There's something else I haven't told anyone, not even Remus."

He told him about the dreams he'd been having over the past week.

"Well, that's very interesting. I wonder what she did to that medallion. Hold on, wait right here. I'll be right back," and she left before they could even say a word. A few moments later she came back with a huge book under her arm; a book that Harry and Ron had seen many times before thanks to Hermione, _Hogwarts, A History._

"Not that again," whined Ron.

"Hold on," Harry jumped in on Hermione's behalf. "I think she might be on to something this time."

He knew what she was looking for in the books, and he had a pretty good idea that it would be in there. Sure enough, a few moments later Hermione cried out.

"Got it. I knew I'd read something about them in here. There's not much though; mainly just rumours. Let's see here. Each of the four founders had created medallions which they wore around their necks. Each was engraved with their house emblem and was, as legend has it, enchanted with powerful charms, each one representative of a character trait held the founder who made it."

"So what was Ravenclaw's medallion enchanted with?" asked Harry.

"Well, it says here that Rowena Ravenclaw was known for her love for intellect and deductive reasoning. However, it was rumoured that Rowena was also a soothsayer, or fortune-teller. There is even mention of a long lost diary which chronicled her predictions, though nobody has ever been able to confirm such a diary exists."

"So what? Is this thing supposed to make me psychic or something?"

"Not exactly. I don't think you could actually charm something to give its holder clairvoyance, but it might be able to help with similar stuff, like mind protection spells."

"But that doesn't explain my dreams. If this thing blocks people from attacking my mind, how come I keep having dreams of me and the Founding Four?"

"Actually, there's one more thing here, just below the paragraph about the four medallions. Let's see. Here it is. It's a bit cryptic, but there's something about some powerful magic being unlocked when three of the medallions are brought together. That was probably done after Slytherin left. That's why there's only three and not all four. I can't quite understand the rest, but anyway, there it is."

"I'll bet that's what I've been seeing in my dreams. There was loads of weird stuff in there. The sorting hat, that sword I used to kill the basilisk, and there were tons of potions and books all around. It was kind of like a series of alters that… But wait. That's not right because there were four recesses, not three."

"Harry, that's not what we need to worry about right now anyway. What we need to do is find out more about the one we have. I doubt we'll ever find the other two anyways."

"Right. What else does it say about Harry's medallion?" Ron asked.

"Nothing. That's it. I'll have to wait until we get back to Hogwarts before I can get any more information about it."

"Sounds like another year of Hermione the librarian," joked Ron.

They all laughed for a few minutes, then talk a bit more about Harry's dream. They spent the rest of the day talking about their upcoming year and planning their next visit to Diagon Alley in two weeks, when Hermione would be coming back from America.

The next few days flew by, and Harry fell back into his normal routine. He continued his Occlumency training and thought he was doing quite well until the following Monday morning.

He'd just come down for breakfast when it happened. He'd completely blacked out.

The next thing he knew, he was back at Hogwarts, surrounded by the Slytherins and standing in front of Professor Umbridge. She was preparing to do the Cruciatus curse on him, and the fear broke through him.

Then suddenly he was in extreme pain; his body on fire. When it finally stopped he looked up to find himself in a graveyard looking up at Voldemort laughing and taunting him. He could hear the laughter of the Death Eaters circling around him, and then Voldemort prepared for another attack, but Harry ducked behind a tombstone, landing with a hard thud.

When he stood, he watched as Sirius fell through the veil, looking over at him and taunting him about it being Harry's fault that he had died.

Harry doubled over on his knees, tears falling from his eyes, and when he looked up, Dobby was standing over him screaming at someone in front of him, with Lupin holding him back from attacking.

Harry stood up. He was back in the kitchen, and Snape was standing in front of them with what had to be the softest look Harry had ever seen, though it disappeared the moment their eyes met.

"Potter, I would hope you'd have more control over both yourself and your house-elf," he said with a sneer.

"At least Dobby would give people fair warning before attacking them," Harry shot back.

"But that isn't the point of these exercises, is it Potter. The point is to test you when you are least expecting it. Just because you've had a recent birthday does not mean that I will not be testing you. Unlike our Headmaster, I do not think you so special that you can just skip important tests any time you have something to celebrate. Now, I will be back before our meeting on Wednesday. I expect you will have enough forethought to at least try to fight back next time?"

Harry gave him an angry sneer in response.

"I shall see you then. Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere else to be. Lupin," he said with a pained look before heading to the fireplace.

The moment he left Harry began to swear up a storm about how rotten Snape was and Remus nodded, though he didn't seem to say much about it.

Harry had received nearly a dozen more of these tests, though he hadn't shown much improvement until only two most recent encounters, and the first was simply by mere coincidence.

It had been while Harry had been asleep, and as such Snape had the problem of contending with Harry's medallion. . What Snape had done was use Alohomora to unlock the clasp, then a combination of Wingardium Leviosa and Accio to retrieve it without having to get too close to him and chance waking him up.

What Snape hadn't known was that Harry had felt the chain slip over his chin while he was asleep and that had given Harry just enough forethought to catch what was happening by the time he had relived the third memory and stop him from continuing.

More importantly, though, was the fact that this seemed to be a breakthrough point because he was able to do the same thing the next time he was attacked by Snape. Only that time he was also able to flip the switch back against Snape and forced him to relive a scene he'd seen once before with his dad taunting Snape in front of Remus, Sirius, and his mum.

Snape broke the connection and called it a day, but since he hadn't said anything bad about what had happened, Harry had assumed he'd done well. However, none of the lessons Harry and Snape had compared to the Wednesday session they had in the middle of August.

"Since this is the last lesson we will have before preparing you for your new professor, we are not going to be meddling with the books. If you have not learned everything you need to know from the books by now, you never will," Snape sneered as he looked at Harry.

"Therefore, we will be performing a series of Occlumency battles. Here, you will not only attempt to break my connection with you, but you must also attempt to take control of the connection. That is the only way you will truly be able to stop the Dark Lord from trying to penetrate your mind. If he sees the risk is greater than the gain, he will not be likely to attempt to use the connection you share. Prepare yourself."

Snape stood at attention the same way one would prepare for a wizards duel, and Harry did the same. A moment later they were wafting through Harry's memories. After the fourth memory Harry was able to push back a bit, and soon they were looking into Snape's mind, if only for one brief memory before switching back to Harry.

They continued to duel like this for four hours, taking five minute breaks every half hour to eat some chocolate. After the first three encounters Harry noticed that Snape too was eating small amounts of chocolate. This gave Harry a new resolve, and soon Harry was reliving three memories to Snape's two. He wasn't evenly matched, but he was fighting back, and that was more progress than he had made in a very long time.

During the last duel, however, Harry was able to do something he had never done before. He had gotten the first shot in and for the first time he was able to sense the different emotions coming from Snape's mind. He stood still in Snape's mind for what seemed like minutes, though it was merely fractions of a second.

Suddenly a glimmer of green light caught his eye, and he moved forward.

He was at a bright looking house in the hills, and in front of the house was a beautiful young woman. At first Harry thought it was his mum, but her hair was a bright red, even more so than Ginny or Ron's.

She was kneeling in front of a garden, minding her flowers and singing a soft tune to herself. Then as flash of green light fluttered across Harry's eyes and hit the woman across her shoulder. Harry knew what had happened even before her lifeless body dropped flat over her flowers.

Harry turned to see five men behind him, three of which were holding back a fourth. The fifth, Harry knew even without seeing his face under the hood, was Lord Voldemort. But to Harry's surprise, the three men were holding back Snape, who's eyes were red as fire, and for the first time Harry saw a look in Snape's eyes that he understood to be filled with more hated than any he had shown for Harry. And, just as Harry began to put together who that woman might be, a high pitched laughter came from the man standing alone.

"This is the price you pay," laughed Voldemort, "for not completing a task that your Master sets forth for you. Maybe next time you will work harder to please me, and I will not have to take those things that you so cherish." He turned around and looked at Snape for the first time and saw the anger flaring in his eyes. He laughed some more, pulled his wand back up, and soon the other three dropped Snape as he withered in pain.

The other three laughed as Snape cried out from the pain that could only come from the Cruciatus curse. Harry recognised the three laughs as belonging to Lucius Malfoy and his two lackeys Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry, going purely on instinct, reached into his pocket, pulled out his wand, and called out "_Expelliarmus_" at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly the world came screaming back at him, and to his surprise, Snape was on the floor in front of him, clearly unnerved and completely dazed. Then a very controlled anger overcame him and he stood amazingly quickly with his wand drawn before just as quickly coming to his senses just as suddenly.__

He lowered his head slightly and spoke in a soft tone Harry had not expected.

"I apologise for my overreaction," he said simply. Harry could see sweat pouring down his Snape's face and his hands were still shaking quite bad.

"Was that the reason why you started working for Dumbledore?" he asked passively.

Snape did not speak for several minutes. Then, finally he nodded his head very slightly and spoke almost as though he were reading from a book.

"After Lily got together with Potter, I knew I had lost any chance of courting her. As you may have concluded before, I was interested in her for some time. I admit that much of my interest in her stemmed from that very incident you witnessed in the Pensive."

Harry bowed his head, knowing he'd opened himself for another verbal beating, but Snape continued without noticing.

"However, I didn't expect to have any chance while we were still at school, and James had started dating her. After that, and for a long time, I kept to myself, trying hopelessly to fade away from the world. I was truly lost. By that time I had been in the service of the Dark Lord, and I filled my life with doing whatever I could for him." He looked up at Harry for the first time, but only for a moment before turning and walking around the room.

"However, a year after I left Hogwarts I was asked to do some undercover work that put me back in the service of Dumbledore, working as a double agent. That's when I met Sam. She was everything I could have wanted, and better still, she was my assignment. I was told to get close to her, as her father worked at the Ministry of magic. Before I knew what had happened, I had fallen in love with her." Snape paused for a moment, but Harry said nothing, not wanting to interrupt him.

"At that point," he continued, "I began to have misgivings about feeding the Dark Lord information. I did not like using Sam, and I liked the use of the information even less. I began to see my information leading to the deaths of some innocent people. Think of me what you may, Potter, but I do not take pleasure in the misery of others. I do admit that I have an affinity with the Dark Arts, but that stems from my roots of which I will not be discussing with you now. In any event, one night I discovered that Sam's father had been laid off from the Ministry. It seemed that too much information was tracked back to him. At this, the Dark Lord ordered me to terminate him."

Harry's eyes went wide. Could Snape really have killed his girlfriend's father?

"No, I could not," Snape replied to Harry's thought. "And I didn't need to be a proper Legilimens to know what you were thinking. In any event, I helped plan her parent's escape. However, our plans got back to the Dark Lord and he decided to pay us a visit. First he killed her parents and younger sister, then he brought me to witness her death which you have just witnessed. It was at this point that I truly came to realise the nature of my Master's plans. He offered me a way to redeem myself. He had me seek out Dumbledore and try to get as close to him as possible."

"So that's how you got your job at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I will ask you one time. Do not interrupt me again. I doubt I will ever be willing to tell this story again in this lifetime."

Harry nodded silently.

"So I approached Dumbledore. But instead of sneaking into his group or going undercover, I approached him at the school and told him everything that had happened. I vowed to him then to do whatever it took to put a stop to the Dark Lord's plans. The night your parents were killed I learned of what the Dark Lord had planned and I contacted Dumbledore. He sent me to look after Neville Longbottom while he sent Hagrid to contact Lily and James. Unfortunately, He was unable to reach them in time. After that, I continued to work for Dumbledore as a spy for well over a year, helping to imprison over twenty people who were either Death Eaters or those working to join the forces. After that, Dumbledore offered me the position of Potions Master which I gratefully accepted."

Harry gave him a knowing look, and for the first time that night, Snape gave a mischievous grin. "And right now you are thinking me a liar. You are aware of my desire to become the Dark Arts Professor. Well, this will come as a bit of a shock to you, but I have no interest of ever filling that position."

If Harry's look of disbelief was obvious before, it was nothing compared to the look he was giving Snape now.

"Do you know who started the rumour that I wanted the Dark Arts job? It was Dumbledore."

Harry's look of disbelief quickly turned to one of confusion. After thirty seconds Snape shook his head.

"Come on Potter. Think. Why would he want it publicly known for me to have a strong desire towards the Dark Arts class?"

And it hit him like a rocket. "So that everyone will know that you're still working for Voldemort."

Snape didn't wince at the name, but his grin turned into a sneer. "Indeed. It assured that I have an open place among the students as a way into the world of Dark Magic. .And now that the Dark Lord has returned, I have let it slip that I am still in his service, though I must keep my composure here at the school. I do not think the Dark Lord believes it, but many of the Death Eaters do, and that is good enough for now."

"So that's what you've been doing for the Order?"

"Among other things, yes. However, I am growing weary of this discussion and I have things to take care of. I _expect_ that you not speak of this conversation to anyone other than myself or Dumbledore, and that includes your two little _friends_." He used the word friends as though it were a foul word.

"In fact, I would prefer that you never speak of it with me again either, and if I were you I would not expect to get any special treatment because of what we have discussed here. I have only told you this now because the Headmaster believes that you may finally understand, once and for all, where my loyalties lie."

Harry nodded. He'd never liked Snape and always thought of him as the world's biggest git, but somehow now he seemed to feel something else. It wasn't exactly pity or sympathy; yet it was something close to both. What he did know is that after today he would never look at Snape the same way again. Now he knew why he had been so bitter all these years.

"Next week we will go over the preparation for your training when term begins. I expect you to know that book front to back when I arrive next week. Also, Dumbledore has asked me to remind you that you will be spending the week after next back at Privet Drive."

"Yes sir," Harry replied. He'd forgotten all about that.

"Then I will see you next week." And with that, Snape quickly packed up and headed to the fireplace.

As soon as he was gone Harry headed upstairs and talked to Lupin. He didn't exactly talk about what he had seen, but he had told Remus that he now understood what had happened to make Snape such an angry person.

"You don't know the half of it. Snape's childhood wasn't exactly the best either. Back when we were in school there were rumours that he had been abused quite a bit by his father. And you know, even back then you could tell that James was a good guy deep down, even to Snape. There were several times when Snape had attacked James and his family and James never replied with the same. He'd always bring it back to Snape himself."

"So that's why he started acting like a jerk? Because his father beat him?"

"I don't know for sure. What I do know is that the first day Snape arrived at Hogwarts it was obvious that he was trouble. But why had gone from bad to worse is anyone's guess, but most of us have an idea why he finally stepped back to our side after being a Death Eater."

"Why's that," Harry asked, trying not to sound so like he knew more than he should have.

"Well, there were rumours that he had a girlfriend and that at some point she was killed by Voldemort. After that, he got a hold of Dumbledore and started working as a spy."

Harry nodded while trying as hard as he could to keep a straight face.

"So what happened next? What was it he did that has Dumbledore so sure that he'd gone straight?"

"He's not told you?" Lupin asked with a clearly surprised look on his face.

"No, why?"

"Well, I'm not sure I'm the one to tell you, Harry, but I guess someone should. You see, Harry, when shortly after Voldemort disappeared a lot of the Death Eaters gave up and, well, you know all about that. Well, some of them went on rampages, trying to avenge their master. Four of them you know about, Rudolphus, Rabastan, and Bellatrix Lestrange, along with Barty Crouch junior, all kidnapped Frank and Alice Longbottom and tortured them into insanity."

"Right. They were all sent to Azkaban."

"Right. But do you know how they were apprehended?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"It was Snape. He's the one that tipped off the Dumbledore about their capture the moment he learned about it, then he went to their house and protected him. As it turned out, Rabastan came after Neville and would have kidnapped him too if Snape hadn't been there. He brought young Neville and his Grandmother to Hogwarts where they stayed until the Lestranges and Barty Crouch were captured. Were it not for Snape, the Longbottoms would have been tortured to death and Neville would have been next."

"And Snape saved them?" Harry asked astonished.

"That's right. But outside of Dumbledore, Snape, you and me, nobody knows about Snape's involvement in that night, and it needs to stay that way, and that includes Hermione and Ron. Not even Neville knows about it. I think that's a large part of the reason he picks on Neville so much. It's the whole 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' mantra."

"Right. I'm sure that's the only reason too," Harry said sarcastically.

"Right," Remus agreed. "Well, I'm not saying that he's the best guy around, in fact I'd say he's probably the worst guy to stay on our side, but he is on our side, and that's what's important. And we need him now, as much as ever. He's one of our best resources for information on Voldemort's activities and he's currently working on putting himself back into the good graces of a large number of Death Eaters."

"How?"

"That's not important. Just understand that no matter how he acts or what he does, he's important to our cause and he will be there if you truly need him. Don't forget that."

"Yes sir," Harry said softly.

"Good. Now, why don't we find something a bit nicer to talk about."

And so they talked on for a short while, until Harry began to feel the drain of the day finally set in and he headed to bed.

And so Harry's last two weeks of freedom had come and gone.

He spent the last two lessons with Snape training while they barely spoke. Most of their time was spent going over the new book, _Mind over Magic_, and practising the exercises in it. Unlike his other two books, the only way to practice the lessons in this book was to have someone attack his mind, and then have him completely block the intruder's thoughts. He had to wait until Snape had entered his mind, then empty his thoughts until the only things left were him and Snape in a kind of black void, and since Harry was finally getting the hang of Occlumency, his lessons were going much faster than before.

When He wasn't working on Occlumency he was honing his duelling skills and getting ready for his sixth year at Hogwarts.

Finally, the day Harry had been dreading for the past two weeks had arrived. It was Sunday night and all the Weasleys were there, along with Hermione, all bid goodbye to Grimmauld Place with a big dinner. Then, he said his final goodbyes and headed back to Privet Drive.

Remus accompanied him all the way home and gave him a little ray of hope at the end of the week.

"Harry, I thought I might give you a bit of good news. I've been able to get a flat in Hogsmead that I'll be able to use, so I'll be around if you need to me. Also, if you ever need to talk to me immediately, you can always use your mirror to reach me. Everyone in the Order has one."

Harry's face dropped. "I broke mine just before I came home from school."

"Not to worry. A simple Repairo spell should take care of it just fine."

Harry nodded dumbly. Of course he could repair it. Here he was, about to be a sixth year student and a Head Professor of Magical Duelling and it never occurred to him to use magic for something as simple as fixing a mirror. He shook his head at himself and smiled.

"Thanks. Well, if I don't get in there soon I might lose my nerve."

"Right. Well, I'll try to come by next Thursday to pick you up. And remember, just because you live here doesn't mean you have to spend the whole week here. I heard the Weasley boys talking about having a "Back to school" sale you might want to check out this coming weekend. Bring Dudley along. He seems to be coming along well."

"Yeah. I never thought I'd say it, but he's not all bad. Maybe you can even come and meet us there."

"Unfortunately I have something to do over the next week for the Order and I don't think I'll finish before Sunday. But I'll see what I can do, okay?"

"Right." Harry gave Remus a quick "manly" hug and headed inside before he broke down.

He headed straight to his room and unpacked his trunk. He'd been here only a week before, but somehow it seemed like he had felt like he'd been punished for something he'd done in another life. But at least this time he didn't have to worry too much about the Dursleys, and that helped.

As soon as he unpacked he dipped into his books and tried to drown himself in his studies. Dudley came in after a few minutes to say hi, but he couldn't stay too long or else he might make Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia suspicious.

And so the last full week of the holidays began, and Harry settled in for the long haul, went to bed, and dreamed with a smile of the days to come when he would be back at Hogwarts, waiting for his next great adventure to begin.

-=--=- 

Coming Soon 

Chapter 10

Siege at Kings Cross


	10. Chapter 10 Siege at Kings Cross

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 10

Siege at Kings Cross

The next ten days crept by like a spider with five broken legs. Each day seemed to last ten times longer than the day before.

There were a few things that were able to keep Harry from going completely insane.

First was his mirror which Sirius given to him last year, which he used to talk to the portrait of Sirius at least twice a day.

Second were the two or three times a day that Dudley was able to sneak away and visit with him, either in his room or at the park, and they would talk about Hogwarts and all the things that Harry had seen and done in the past five years there. Dudley was most impressed when he heard that there really were dragons, and not only that, but that Harry had taken on one of the most fierce dragons known to wizard kind, and survived.

And then there were his walks to the park. Here he could read his books under the sun and just enjoy the pure nature of things. This seemed to be the most soothing thing for Harry as there were no reminders of the chaos of life that he was about to endure back at Hogwarts.

Harry hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but he was really beginning to get nervous about the prospect of teaching other students how to defend themselves when most of the time when he was in for a fight he wanted nothing more than to run away. But then, he didn't run away when Voldemort returned, he stood and fought. And when he was in the ministry, hadn't he fought off several Death Eaters in order to help the others escape?

His real worries ended up being much more personal. He kept thinking about his conflicting thoughts about how happy he was that he had Sirius back, followed quickly by the realization that it was not really Sirius, but rather a talking picture of Sirius.

Then there were the nagging worries about Dudley once they got back to school. Harry had to admit that the time they had spent together recently was fun, but he had to accept that things would probably change once he was at Hogwarts. After all, it was likely that Dudley would end up in Slytherin, and then it wasn't likely they would be hanging out much.

And there was Malfoy. How would he deal with things now that his father had been sent to Azkaban? At the end of term last year he had vowed to take revenge on Harry for what had happened to his father. Now he was going to have to watch his back twice as hard as last year.

But at the park, none of these thoughts were able to creep into his mind. A large portion of the reason for this was that at the park, many people thought that the Occlumency lessons Harry was practicing some kind of the Buddhist Meditation exercises or something, so most everyone who saw him simply ignored him. This was great for Harry, because he really didn't want to talk to people much anyway.

Unfortunately, Wednesday brought forth Snape, as well as a surprise visit the night before.

Harry had been able to take control of Snape's invasion, but only after nearly half an hour of flowing through half a dozen different memories. Oddly enough, Snape seemed to be more impressed than annoyed with Harry.

"You are beginning to take absolute control over your mind, Potter, although you should be able to catch me a bit fast than that. However, you have at least made enough progress so that your new instructor will not be completely disappointed in you."

"Thanks. Coming from you, I'd almost take that as a compliment," he said with a smirk.

Snape didn't comment. But the next day Harry was once again surprised when Snape did not arrive with his Pensieve.

"Dumbledore suggested that it might be prudent for us to take some time to prepare for the Duelling class at Hogwarts. But before we begin on that I wanted to speak to you about the class, and more importantly, your instruction. You see, Mr. Potter, the Order has recently received intel that there may be some students at Hogwarts who are looking to join the Death Eaters. Unfortunately we are not quite sure who these students are, but one thing we are most sure of is that it is likely that one or more of them will be asked to study your duelling techniques in classes."

Harry nodded shortly. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, but he was not about to interrupt Snape.

"Therefore, Dumbledore has suggested that you and I may want to make sure that our duelling skills are at least a few levels higher than what we teach. He has also remembered me that we are to help these students to defend themselves. We are not here to train Aurors, so you need to watch what we are teaching them."

"So, what? We're only supposed to teach them how to run away or something?" He didn't know why he was getting upset so quickly, but somehow this just didn't sound right.

"No, that is not right, Potter. We are to teach them the complete basics on how to duel. We are not, however, trying to teach them how to take on The Dark Lord single handedly. That is what the Aurors are paid for, and if the students want to become Aurors, they can do so after they graduate. But for now, we shall settle for them being able to escape with their lives."

Harry agreed with a nod, but inside he was fuming. He could read between the lines, and he didn't like being reminded of his obligation to kill Voldemort. But at least when he got back to school he would be able to look up spells that might allow him to find another way to deal with him. But Harry wasn't able to think about Voldemort much longer as he was soon going over a layout of what they would teach each class over the next four months.

When they were done they had settled on pairing Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw and Slytherin with Gryffindor. They had also separated the first and second years into one group, third through fifth years in a second group, and sixth and seventh years in the third, which totalled out to six classes over the week. This meant that even though Harry had given up two of his classes to teach this one, he was still going to be busier than last year.

They finished up around seven thirty and worked on a few basic Occlumency lessons for another half-hour. Snape had nothing bad to say.

Thursday and Friday dragged on slowly but without incident, but Friday night Harry learned that one of his reprieves was to be taken away from him. A very formal Muggle looking letter arrived for him just after dusk for Dudley. When he came up just after dinner under the guise of working on his computer, Harry gave him the note.

Dear Mr. Dursley.

In order to keep the illusion of your going to Stepford's School for Gifted Children in London, I will be picking you up Sunday night to bring you to school. We will then bring you to Hogwarts where I, with the help of Professor Severus Snape and Hagrid, will help familiarize you with the school, as well as several other aspects of the wizarding community. Fortunately, we will have some other students that will be arriving on Sunday as well, so you will not be the only student here, and we have several activities lined up for until the rest of the students arrive on the first of September.

Now an official letter will be arriving by messenger in a few minutes to inform your Mother and Father of when we will be picking you up on Sunday promptly at six o'clock in the evening. And if you could please remind Mr. Potter that he is to be making his decision of which Animagus for he will be taking before he arrives at Hogwarts, it would be appreciated.

Finally, since we would be unable to ask for permission for you to go to Hogsmeade, the local town where students visit from time to time, we have instead enclosed a permission form allowing you to go to any school related outings. This would be sufficient for our needs if you would be able to procure a signature for us. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Yours truly,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Dudley gave the note to Harry who quickly read it over and dropped his head. Now he was going to be all alone with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon for the next six days. But Dudley looked excited, so he smiled at him and told him about all the things he would probably see over his first four days at Hogwarts.

A few moments later Harry and Dudley heard the doorbell and Dudley used the distraction to sneak out of Harry's room. A moment later Harry could hear Vernon yelling up for Dudley to come down. Harry was barely able to live with the Dursleys over the next twenty-four hours. Every time he passed his Aunt or Uncle they would reminded him, Our Dudley is going to a school where the Deputy Headmistress of his school will be picking him up personally. But we still have to drop you off at that ruddy train station so you to go to that weird school of yours."

At first Harry was able to just shrug it off, but within two hours of Dudley leaving, Harry ended up breaking out his wand and promising to blow them up as he had done to Aunt Marge three years ago if they did not blood well shut up. They said nothing to him for the rest of the week.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the sweet release of Thursday came.

As he was so tired of the Dursleys by then, Harry told them he would find his own way to King's Cross.

It was still dark out when Harry had finished gathering all of his things into his trunk. He let Hedwig out of her cage, gave her a quick treat, and told her to meet him at Hogwarts. Then he used the mirror to say a quick goodbye to Sirius and Remus, picked up his trunk, and headed out.

Since he did not want to bother Mrs. Figg, he decided he would use the Knight Bus. He walked down to the end of the street, checked that noone was about, and held out his wand. A moment later, a thunderous BOOM nearly knocked Harry out of his shoes as a large triple-decker bus suddenly appeared before him.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus…" began Stan, the Knight Bus conductor. But Harry was already stepping in and dragging his trunk behind him."

"Well what do you know, Ern," said Stan when he saw Harry coming on the bus. "It's Harry Potter. Welcome back to the Knight Bus, Mr. Potter."

"It's good to be back. Heading over to Kings Cross today, if you don't mind. And I need to be there by…"  
  
"Eleven. Not a problem, Sir. We've got a few students already in the back there. In fact…" he dredged on, "little Neville Longbottom's back there right now. You know Neville Longbottom, don't you Harry?" he drew out with a huge smile spreading across his face.

Harry smiled back. Two years earlier, when he had first used the Knight Bus, he thought the Ministry of Magic might be after him, so he told Stan that he was Neville, just in case.

He headed back and, as he knew the moment he heard that Neville was here, he found the only bed left was the last one in the back, smack dab next to Neville.

"Hello, Harry," he said genially.

"Hello Neville. Have a good summer?"

"Well, sort of. It started off good enough, anyway," he said is his normally distressing voice. "But about a month ago, just before my birthday, Grams tripped over one of my Devils Snare plants and well, you know how they are. She broke her leg right good. It's happened twice since then, and then just last night it happened for a fourth time, both legs no less, and it was so bad she had to go to St. Mungo's and grow whole new legs. She wasn't too happy about that. Lets just say, even if I had wanted to bring it to school this year, there's wouldn't have been a whole lot left to bring. That's why I'm taking the Knight Bus. Grams is still growing her new bones."

Harry knew how bad that must be. He had to re-grow his arm bones after Professor Lockhart had removed them during his second year at school, and that was only one arm. Two legs would be darn near torture. And that Skeli-gro didn't taste very good, either.

"Well, that's okay. We can keep each other company until we get to King's Cross. By the way, who else is here? Stan said there were a few students on the bus."

"Well, let's see. I saw a second year Slytherin up on the second floor, and I think the Patil twins are up on the third tier, and there's a third year Gryffindor up there too, and that's about all I noticed, but I didn't really look much, you know. Still thinking about Grams."

"Yeah. Say, any word on your Mum and Dad?" Harry was one of the only students at Hogwarts who knew what had happened to Neville's parents, and he knew it wasn't much of a happy topic, so he was mildly surprised when Neville perked up a bit at the mention of his parents.

"Oh yeah. You know, with all that happened at the party, I didn't get a chance to tell you. They're starting to show improvements. And all because of some American chap who was visiting the hospital. He's from some other school out there, and I head he might even be bringing some students to Hogwarts."

"So that's who those students are that'll be there with Dudley." Harry thought about it. His eyes narrowed for a moment, and he had the district feeling that Hermione had had some kind of hand in this, but he didn't know how. He shook his head, and came back to the discussion at hand. "So what happened with your Mum and Dad?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, it's not much, but when I went there a few days ago, they remembered me pretty well. They even remembered that I was going to Hogwarts, though they thought I was a third year," he said in a softer voice. "But still," he said, his voice raising, "The time before that it took them half an hour to remember who I was. And you should see Lockhart. He's making tons of progress. The nurse said if he keeps it up they might let him go home by the end of the year."

"Good lord. That's great, Neville. Next time you go over there, tell them I said hi."

"Oh, they would love that. That's one of the things they asked me. If I knew you and all. I told them you were in my class, and for a moment it was as though they had remembered everything. They knew who you were, a that you had defeated You-Know-Who, and well… Anyway, they'd love to hear that you said hello."

"Sure. Maybe I can come by some time and say hello."

"Wow. That would be great. Really great. So, are you ready for the new year?"

Harry smiled broadly. Neville had no idea that in less than twelve hours he would be at the great feast and finding out that Harry would be the new Duelling Class Professor.

"Yea, I think I'm ready. Or at least as ready as I can be." Something suddenly struck Harry, and he dove into his bag. A few moments later he pulled out a small box and handed it over to Neville. "I know it's a bit late, but Happy Birthday, Neville."

Neville's shock was apparent. It was obvious that he had no idea Harry would be giving him a present, and Harry hadn't actually thought about it. But after his birthday remembered that Neville's birthday was the same day as his, so he wanted to get him something. He'd found it in a shop when he went out with Remus a few weeks ago, and he knew it would be perfect.

Neville opened it up, looked at it for a moment with a look of confusion, then looked up at Harry and put on a happy face.

"It's great, Harry. But, uhh, well, what is it?" Harry smiled. For once, Harry knew about something that another wizard didn't.

"It's a Remembrwatch. It's just like a Remembrall, but with a few extra features. Put it on and I can show you a few things it does."

Neville pulled it out and put it on his arm. It automatically wrapped itself around his arm closed locked itself up. They both looked down at the watch with its stone looking numbers flipping over with the passing of the seconds. Then Harry began to point out the different jewels and showed Neville what they did.

"The red one works like an alarm, only instead of ringing it recites whatever it was that you were supposed to do. And the green one directs you to anything you have lost. And that gold one, that's my favourite. That one works like a miniature Pensieve. It can hold up to five memories at a time. That way you don't have to worry about forgetting, because there it is."

Then Harry pulled up his own wrist and showed Neville his own blue watch with black marble numbers. "I got one for myself too," he declared, "to replace the one I broke during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. But mine's only got three gems, like those, but there's more of them. I've got five of the white ones, two red ones, and one green one. Those others, I don't know what they do, but you can read about them in the rest in the manual. It should be right there on the bottom."

And so they spent the rest of their ride to King's Cross looking over the manual for the watch and finding out what else it could do. Finally, just before ten thirty, they heard Stan announce their arrival at Kings cross in two minutes.

As they pulled into King's Cross Harry noticed that there seemed to be a bit of noise coming from the front of the bus, but he figured it was the students piling up to get out of the bus. However, when he and Neville arrived at the front of the bus he saw just how wrong he was.

A family of five Muggles was floating five feet off the ground with two men, both masked and in dark cloaks, waving their wands overhead and directing the family members to crash into each other.

Behind them Harry could see black clouds of smoke coming from trains and buildings. Harry's eyes went wide.

Harry knew immediately what he had to do.

"Neville, get back to your seat." he called out loudly.

"Stan. STAN!" he shouted louder, finally snapping Stan out of his daze. "Let me out of the bus, then get everyone out of here. Take them to the Leaky Cauldron until you hear the all clear from Tom.

"Harry. You've got to be kidding. I'm not letting you out of…"

Stan was cut off as Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Stan in a threatening manner.

"You touch that pedal before I get out and you'll be in St Mungo's for the next six months."

Harry didn't give Stan a chance to respond, but bent down and dove into his chest. He pulled out a small mirror and stuffed it into one of his pockets while he grabbed the invisibility cloak in the other. He noticed Stan eyeing his cloak as he finished stuffing it into his pocket, but he paid it no mind.

"Now let me out, and then get out of here, and I mean now."

Stan didn't say a word, but reluctantly opened the door. The moment Harry's feet hit solid ground, there was a loud bang that emanated from behind him, and the Knight Bus was gone.

And then the fear set in. He wasn't quite sure where all of the bravery was coming from just at the moment, but wherever it had come from, it seemed to be leaving faster than the Knight Bus.

He quickly pulled over the invisibility over himself and headed for any cover he could find, which in this case was a spot between two cars.

It took less than ten seconds to reach the cars, but it seemed like an hour. He looked around everywhere to make sure that nobody had seen him put on the cloak. It seemed nobody had caught sight of him, though what he saw nearly made him sick.

To his left he saw a pair of Death Eaters, huge ones he assumed were Crabbe and Goyle's fathers, each laughing as they fought a swordfight in mid-air. But instead of using their swords, they were using a pair of Muggle children, and it seemed this amused them greatly.

To his right Harry saw another Death Eater, this one much shorter, and she had a small group of Muggles standing on their heads, spinning quite fast, as though they were tops.

And in front of him was the most disturbing sight. Three Death Eaters had put a leg-locking charm on a pair of Muggles, a man and a woman, while they took turns casting the Cruciatus Curse on two children. From the look on their faces, Harry could only assume the adults were the children's parents.

When he reached the space between the two cars he dropped to his knees which would surely leave them bruised in the morning, but he paid it no attention as he pulled out the mirror and called out for Sirius.

It was then that he realized where this sudden boost of bravery and stupidity had come from. It was the boiling anger built up inside him from losing his Godfather these very same monsters. That's what had driven him this far, and that's what was going to keep him going.

"Hello Harry. Didn't expect to hear from you quite this soon…" Sirius began, but then it seemed he could read the panic in Harry's face, and he quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Death Eaters. They're all attacking at Kings Cross. They're everywhere; at least two dozen of them. You need to get Dumbledore. Send the Order, Lupin, anyone. They're levitating Muggles all over the place, half of the trains are on fire, and I think they're already getting tired of things. I think I saw a couple of people who were…" he trailed off. It was obvious to Sirius what he was getting at. "You've got to get someone over here now."

"Harry. Where are you?"

It was Remus. He'd just come into view in front of Sirius. He heard Sirius say something he couldn't make out, but he knew what it was all the same. Sirius was already on his way to Hogwarts.

"I'm at King's Cross. The Death Eaters are attacking. This must be what they were talking about when they said that they were going to start up again. I've got to get out there. I've got to do something."

"Harry, I want you to get out of there. I don't want you risking your life …"

"Don't worry," Harry interrupted, "I've got on the invisibility cloak. They won't see me coming, and by the time they do, I'll be somewhere else. It'll just be until help gets here, I promise. But I've got to go. And please hurry."

"But Harry. I don't want…" Remus interjected, but it was no use. Harry had already de-activated the mirror and put it back in his cloak. He was not going to watch anyone else get killed because of these monsters. He was going to put a stop to it. Besides, there were no other wizards or witches about to do…

And that's when it struck him. He didn't see any other wizards around anywhere. But where were they? This day more than any should have this place crawling with wizards and witches, but where were they now?

There had to be some at Platform 9 ¾. But did they not know what was going on out here? He had to get there. He had to find out why there were not there.

He would find the Weasleys. Mr. Weasley worked for the Ministry. Surely he could help. And he could make sure that everyone else was okay.

Then he thought about Hermione and her parents. They were Muggles. _Dear Lord, let them be okay_ Harry prayed.

And then, just as his courage had began to overtake him and he made stand up he saw something that chilled him to the bone.

A shadow was passing over him, followed by a second. He turned his head around to find himself face to face with a Death Eater.

But the Death Eater didn't seem to notice him. He was simply laughing and looking at something in the air above him. That's when Harry saw another Muggle child, this one no more than six, bobbing up and down overhead.

Harry had not time to think. He quickly drew out his wand, aimed it, and cried "Expelliarmus" as softly as he could. It seemed the Death Eater heard him as he began to turn and look down at Harry, but before he could find his unknown foe, he was being knocked twenty feet away, his wand landing in Harry's outstretched hand.

Unfortunately, this seemed to have the opposite effect he wanted, as the Death Eater landed just in front of the other three he had seen before. Apparently, this was the Muggle's third child.

Suddenly, instead of one Death Eater, he was not facing three. His only advantage was that they didn't know where he was, but that would only last until he attacked one, then the other two would go after him. He had to find a way to attack them without exposing himself.

He looked around for a moment, then came up with an idea. He only hoped he could pull it off, as Transfiguration was not his strongest class. But he had no other choice that he could see. And so he concentrated. For fifteen seconds he kept the same picture in his mind, and finally he took his wand and tapped the nearest car with his wand, still concentrating.

And slowly, very slowly at first, it began to change. Then, as though time suddenly sped up, the car started to shrink a bit and grew a great deal of hair. A moment later, where the car first stood, now there was a large brown bear.

Immediately the bear shot out at the closest person, that being one of the Death Eaters. As the bear charged, the other two Death Eaters spread out and started sending spells at it.

While they were distracted with the bear, Harry used the summoning spell to pull the Muggles to him. When all five were safe, he released the leg-locking charm. Before they even had a chance to figure out what had happened, Harry had used _Petrificus Totalus_ on the two Death Eaters still standing against the bear. The third one, while obviously a bit hurt, was playing dead on the ground, which left him prone to a third petrification spell.

He then transfigured the bear back into a car and headed for Platform 9 ¾. But he had run less than twenty feet when he saw something he couldn't ignore.

A pair of Muggles were floating in mid-air, two more Death Eaters using them like sword to battle each other, all the while laughing wholeheartedly. Harry couldn't have stopped himself if he wanted to.

Then, just when he thought he could not have been more angry, he heard a voice that had haunted his dreams for the past two months, and an anger grew even stronger, threatening to overwhelm him. Before he could stop himself, he cried out, "Hey Bellatrix. Laugh this off!"

One of the two Death Eaters turned suddenly, searching around for her antagonist, but too late. Harry had already launched a spell at her.

"Rictusempra!" he cried loudly. By the time she saw the spell soaring toward her, all she could do was whisper a quick curse before it landed on its mark. She had been hit square in the chest and flew back at least thirty feet, landing hard on her back.

She raised her head up for a moment, looked around, then fell back down, completely unconscious.

The other Death eater, however, had seen where the spell had come from and sent a spell which had just barely missed Harry, though Harry hadn't noticed. He was too busy casting a cushioning charm on the ground below the Muggle Bellatrix had been hexing a few moments earlier.

Another spell shot towards Harry, but this one was coming from his back, and instead of hitting him, it hit the Death Eater in the legs.

"Harry?" called a voice from behind him.

He turned to see a man looking straight at him. For a moment this offset Harry, as he was still wearing his invisibility cloak, but then he realized who he was looking at.

Mad Eye Moody's eyes were filled with worry and concern, but then Harry noticed a sudden change in Moody's attitude; from concern to anger. Without having to be told, Harry knew what he needed to do, and he hit the floor just as Moody sent another spell over his shoulder.

A moment later a gruff voice came from overhead as a large hand picked him back up.

"I can handle things down here," he said. "You get to the train and find some help. Go now. There should be at least a few wizards at the platform by now."

Harry nodded once and headed back towards the wall. He made it there without any problem until…

"Oomph."

He had slammed right into the wall instead of running through it, and fell flat on his rear. After taking a moment to recover himself he stood up and tried, at little slower, to put his hand through the wall. It hit solid wall.

"Bugger!" he shouted. Suddenly he heard a loud voice call from over his shoulder.

"Who's over there. Is there a little Muggle who wants to have a little fun?"

It was another Death Eater. But this time, Harry knew who he was up against. He wanted to hurt this man more than any other Death Eater in the world, but bit back his anger and kept quite. He kept thinking _Stay calm. You have to get to Ron and Hermione. Don't go after him. Just stay calm and wait for him to leave._

It seemed like half an hour versus the half minute it really was for the Death Eater to look around for its prey, but finally he turned around and headed for the parking lot. And as he turned, Harry saw the silver had of Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed his father to Voldemort. _You'll get it some day, Wormtail. Maybe not today, but some day, you and me will dance, and that's one dance I plan to win._

And still, as Wormtail walked out of view, Harry could still feel the anger and desire to jump up and choke the life out of his parent's old time friend. But now was not the time. He needed to call home. He needed to talk to Dobby.

And at that moment, wave of happiness flowed over him for a moment, followed by a burning sensation in his head. He grasped at his scar which felt as though it might make his head explode.

He tried to block it, closing his mind as he had practiced so often with Snape, and the burning began to subside.

As soon as he could bare it, he reached into his cloak and pulled out the mirror again. Again he called for Grimmauld Place, but this time he was looking for Dobby, hoping and praying that he had not yet returned to Hogwarts. It seemed like days, but after only a few moments, a head popped into view for just a moment, then disappeared, then reappeared once again. It was Dobby, and his head was bouncing in and out of view.

"Hello… Harry Potter Sir… How is you… Doing? Is you already… On your way… To Hogwarts?" he said each time his head came into view. Once again it seemed that Harry was wearing his emotions on his sleeves because abruptly Dobby stopped in mid-air and looked suddenly very upset.

"What is it, Harry Potter Sir?" he said in a very worried voice.

"Dobby, I need you to come here as quickly as…"

POP!

And without warning, Harry found himself staring at a light cloud of smoke where Dobby had been, directly followed by a strong tugging at his leg. He looked down to see Dobby who's fright was immediately obvious.

"What is wrong, Harry Potter sir. How cans Dobby help?"

"Remember when you blocked my and Ron from walking through the wall to Platform 9 ¾?" he asked quickly.

"Of course, Harry Potter Sir. But Dobby is only meaning to help Harry Potter by stopping him from returning to Hogwarts," he replied in an apologetic voice.

"I know, Dobby. But now I need to get through, but it's blocked like it was before. Can you open it back up?"

"Dobby can try's sir," he replied with a smile. He turned and placed his hands on the wall.

"Ooh. This was Dark Magic that sealed this. Very dark magic," he continued to repeat, shaking his head. But after a few moments Harry saw Dobby's hand begin to pass through the barrier. A moment later he pulled his hands away.

"It's done, Harry Potter sir. Dobby is breaking that evil charm."

"That's good Dobby. Now I need you to go home and wait for me there. I'll call you when it's safe to come to Hogwarts."

"But what if you is needing Dobby again, Sir. Dobby is wanting to stay with…"

"I don't have time to argue. Go home. I'll talk to you when I can," Harry replied, then walked through the barrier before Dobby could argue.

When he came out on the other side he was very surprised by what he had seen. Everyone was walking normally and acting as though nothing were happening. He saw Hermione and Ron with their parents over the near the front of the train, including Ron's dad.

Harry ran all out. One of the nice thing about Harry being so small and wiry he that it made him a pretty fast runner. He ran balls to the wall straight to the Weasleys and was completely out of breath when he arrived and threw off his cloak.

"Harry," everyone cried out.

He tried to catch his breaths between words, but couldn't seem to get then out quite right.

"Death eaters… Flying… Muggles… tried killing… Blocked the ent…"

"Calm Down, Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "Take a few moments to catch your breath and tell us what happened."

Harry took three quick deep breaths and said in one quick breath, "Death Eaters are outside attacking the Muggles and they tried killing me but I got away with the cloak and Dumbledore's on his way and I had Dobby open the barrier so I could get in and tell you," then collapsed onto the floor, panting hard and trying to catch his breath. But he had gotten his point across.

"Everyone into the train, right now. Boys, you help Harry into the train. Molly, I'm going to the Ministry to get help. You go outside and see if you can help."

Before anyone could respond, though, Harry had caught his second wind and burst out back towards the barrier as fast as his legs could catch him. Even the twins, who tried running after him, couldn't catch up, and Mrs. Weasley told them to get into the train.

"I'll get him. You get in the train and stay there until we come get you," she ordered, and nobody objected.

The moment Mr. and Mrs. Granger got on, a loud alarm went off, but it didn't phase Harry. He knew it was a Muggle Alarm, telling the conductor a Muggle was on the train, and that just meant that Hermione's parents were now safe.

He reached the barrier less than two minutes after he had arrived, and Mrs. Weasley was half way there herself when Harry ran through. What he saw on the other side stopped him in his tracks.

He'd heard all about it, how terrible of a sight is was, but nothing had ever prepared him for seeing it for himself. Only four feet in front of him stood Dumbledore, and Harry could see, even though he was to Dumbledore's far left, that he was truly furious. Scattered around the platforms were the bodies of no less than half a dozen Death Eaters, each incapacitated in one manner or another.

And when he looked back up at Dumbledore, the whole world seemed to slow to a near halt as he watched the next few moments unfold.

Dumbledore took on a near omniscient aura as he began firing off spells in seemingly random directions until they hit their marks, each a perfect shot.

The first shots hit a pair of Death Eaters hit square in the chest with disarming spells. Yet another pair of spells followed so closely that both Death Eaters had been bound in ropes even before they hit the ground.

Without missing a beat, Dumbledore whipped his around and pointed it behind himself, sending another spell into a third Death Eater. This one, directly behind Dumbledore, was hit with what looked like a version of the jelly-legs curse, only instead of it affecting only his legs, it affected his arms as well, forcing him to drop his wand.

Another three Death Eaters seemed to appear out of thin air, though Harry did not hear the pop that usually accompanied Apparition. They each tried to rush him with a collection of spells, but Dumbledore countered them all with a single swish of his wand. Each of the three spells were deflected right back to its caster, and each of them fell in varying manners.

It seemed two other Death Eaters had finally come to their senses and Apparated away before Dumbledore could take them out, and that left just two Death Eaters trying to take on Dumbledore and one other was duelling Moody.

The Death Eater attacking Moody was obviously outmatched as a moment later he went rigid, and Harry knew he had become petrified.

The final two seemed tentative to stay and fight Dumbledore, but they were probably more frightened of dealing with Voldemort if they left. Harry was sure they had made the wrong decision.

A blinding ray of light shot from Dumbledore's wand, followed by a single binding spell which pulled them together, back to back, and bound them with a shimmering white rope. And just for extra measures, they were lifted a few feet off the ground and flipped upside down.

Harry watched in awe.

Finally, after a final spell from Moody, it seemed the world itself gave a great sigh of relief, and everything went quiet. Dumbledore turned to face Harry, and he wore a look of unreserved disappointment.

He walked over to Harry and asked quickly, "Harry, is everything alright at the train?"

"Yes sir. Best I can tell, they never knew anything was happening down here at all."

"Very well. Now I want you to go back to the train and give the conductor this note." Dumbledore quickly pulled out a letter, tapped it with his wand, and handed it to Harry.

"He will understand what it means. Then I want you to have all of the students readied for the train ride and ask the parents to gather on the platform and tell them that I will be up shortly and that it would be best if they stay there until I arrive."  
  
"Yes Sir," Harry replied quickly. He turned on his heals and headed back to the train.

When he arrived at Platform 9¾ it was completely deserted. Harry headed for the front of the train and gave the conductor the letter. Apparently is was a short note, as Harry had not even made it back out the door when the conductor stopped him.

"Harry, would you be able to tell the parents and students that we will be leaving fifteen minutes late? It seems some students may be running late, and he wants to give them some extra time."

"I'll tell them right now."

"Very good. Also, if you happen to see the trolley lady, could you ask her to come up front for me?"

"Yes sir." Harry replied with a nod.

A moment later he found himself in the halls of the train which were now packed with students and their parents. Luckily the first he came to was the prefect's compartment where he found Ron and Hermione. He told them quickly what he needed to do, and they helped go through the cars telling the students to get ready for the ride to Hogwarts while asking the Parents to gather outside the bus. Of course, the Wizarding parents were much easier to convince than the Muggles, but eventually they all met outside.

By the time Harry had made it through the cars and got back outside, a line of students had begun to come through the barrier and quickly boarded the train while their parents joined the others at the far end of the platform.

It was five minutes after eleven when Dumbledore finally came through the barrier with the last of the students and parents, Neville included, and all went suddenly quiet.

"I apologize for the delay, but there were a few things that the Minister of Magic needed of me before I was able to leave, and since we only have a few moments before the train leaves, I will be brief. Approximately twenty minutes ago, no less than a dozen Death Eaters blocked off the entrance to this platform and began to attack both Muggles and the few wizards and witches that happened to be present. It seems, however, that we were very lucky in that the Knight Bus, carrying one Harry Potter, arrived mere moments after everything began, and he was able to contact me." Dumbledore waved his hand over in Harry's direction and a wave of both awe and gratitude swept the crowd.

"It is because of his quick response in reaching me, more than anything else, that helped ensure that no lives were taken today, and that most of the damage was kept to a minimum. It seems also that he was able to disable three of the Death Eaters himself before he was able to contact me. I assume that any concerns as to his ability to fill the new position at Hogwarts are no longer applicable, although if anyone has any remaining concerns, I will hear them now."

The crowd continued to remain completely still, so Dumbledore continued.

As for any concerns regarding the train's trip to Hogwarts, I have sent for Professors McGonagall and Snape who will aid me in inspecting the train before it departs. And as I am sure you all know, once the Hogwarts Express has departed, it is completely safe for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts."

Again, complete silence, except for the tapping of two pair of shoes which Harry need not turn to see that they belonged to Snape and McGonagall.

"Now, I understand that this has been a traumatic experience for everyone here, and though I would hope that this will not cause Hogwarts to lose any students, I will understand if any of you would want to take some time with your children and decide for yourselves if you believe there to be a safer place for them than at Hogwarts with myself and my staff."

Harry could see a few Parents shuffle as though they might object, but the mentioning of Dumbledore and his staff quickly stifled all activity.

"Very well then. If you wish to say your goodbyes to your sons and daughters, feel free to do so, but I ask that you be quick, as the train is set to leave in approximately," he looked down at his watch, "six minutes. Professor Snape, McGonagall," he said, and then headed towards the train.

It seemed most parents were too nervous to speak to their kids as only a handful came back on board.

Harry went over and talked to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, telling them how much safer Hermione would be at Hogwarts. It didn't seem that they needed much convincing, most likely because they had not seen what had happened outside. Harry was sure that, had they been out there with him, they would never let Hermione out of their sight again.

After the rest of the students finished boarding and everyone had said their goodbyes, Harry headed over to the train, and was about to step on when Dumbledore and Professor Snape met him as they were getting off.

Dumbledore, a softer look on his face now, put his arm on Harry's shoulder and asked softly, "Harry, could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course, sir," Harry replied.

"Harry, there are going to be a lot of students on board who will be asking around, looking for any information as to what happened. I know how well you handled yourself out there, and you have truly proven that you deserve the position you will be holding at Hogwarts, and it's for that reason I must ask a favour of you."

"Anything, sir," Harry replied instantly.

"I must ask that you not speak to anyone, even Ron and Hermione, about what happened out there today. Not until after the feast today. After that, you may feel free to tell anyone you wish."

"I won't say a word. But may I ask, why can I not tell Hermione or Ron? I mean, they are Prefects after all."

"Indeed. However, I would prefer not to risk anyone overhearing. It would take only one word about the loss of Muggle life to frighten the entire train, and that is something I would rather avoid if possible."

"I understand, Sir."

"Now Harry, I do understand that you may want to speak with someone about what you just had to deal with, and that is one of the reasons why Professor McGonagall had volunteered to stay onboard for the trip back to Hogwarts. If you feel like talking about it, she will be at the front of the train with the conductor."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now, I believe it is about time to be off. Take care, Harry, and if you would please meet me and Professor Snape at my office after the dinner feast, I would like to discuss briefly your plans for your first few duelling classes."

"I'll be there, Sir. And sir, if I may say, you were bloody brilliant out there."

"Indeed. As my old Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor used to say, there is only one thing more terrible than having to face a dark wizard, and that's letting them win. So if you must fight, fight to win."

"I'll try to remember that," he said with a grin.

Harry shook hands with both Dumbledore and Snape, though he definitely spent less time shaking Snape's hand than Dumbledore's.

As he boarded the train he took a deep sigh of relief. He may have had one of the longest and worst days of his life, but now he was heading back to Hogwarts, and that alone was reason enough to celebrate.

The ride to Hogwarts was filled with more disasters than Harry could count.

First of all, there wasn't a single student that didn't seem to know that Harry had spoken with Dumbledore privately just before the train left. It took the combined powers of Hermione and Ron to stop them from hoarding him and asking questions, which of course made it twice as hard for him to keep quiet.

Then there were all the rumours about who the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, the most common of which was that there would be none. At least half of the students had been discussing a particular rumour that everyone Dumbledore had approached refused, and that finally the Ministry had come in and said that DADA would be cancelled if Dumbledore could not find a replacement Professor.

But the worse of all happened while Ron and Hermione were in the front cabin with the other Prefects.

Harry, Neville and Ginny were talking about Harry's birthday party when the door opened and a drawling voice said "Well, well. If it isn't the famous Harry Potter. I heard you met up with a couple of my father's friends earlier today. Did you have fun? Well, I hope so, because when my father gets out, it'll be lights out for you, Potter."

"G-Go to hell, Malfoy," Neville stuttered.

"Oh, no. It's the DA. Guess we're all in trouble now," Malfoy laughed.

"Neville, let him be. He's just mad because his dad's in jail, and you helped put him there," Harry shot back.

"Well at least my father will come back to me. You've lost, what, three parents now? You're racking up quite a score."

Harry's blood was boiling beyond anything he had felt before, but Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "He's not worth it, Harry."

Harry's blood didn't cool down much, but she was right. No matter how much he hated Malfoy, he just wasn't worth it.

Harry slowly pulled out his wand and pointed it directly between Malfoy's eyes.

"I would suggest you leave now, Malfoy, before you lose your ability to eat solid food."

"Really, Potter. Threatening a Prefect. That'll be ten points from Gryffindor for…"

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Malfoy, but you have no right to take points from any house, at least, not any more." It was Professor McGonagall.

"If I remember correctly, and I'm sure I do, Prefects do not have the ability to strip points. I think you may have forgotten that Professor Umbridge is no longer working at Hogwarts. In fact, it has come to my attention recently that the Ministry, in order to stop future problems like last year from arising again, the Ministry has signed away all right of control over Hogwarts, indefinitely."

Malfoy just sniffed. Harry knew he wanted to spit something back to McGonagall, but he wasn't quite that dumb.

After a few moments on intense staring, Malfoy took one last smirk at Harry, and left.

"Mr. Potter. I see your lessons with Professor Snape have come along quite well."

"What do you mean, Professor?" he asked.

"I was next door speaking with some frightened first years when Mr. Malfoy entered, and so I changed into my cat form and came to listen, and to assert myself if needed. I am pleased to see that my services were not required, though, for the record, I don't believe you needed to remind him of his father's incarceration at Azkaban. Off the record, I'd say the young man deserved a great deal more than you gave him. Speaking of Lily and James in that fashion, and right after Sirius's… Well, I think you handled yourself wonderfully, and if you handle yourself even half as well at school, I'm sure everyone will be looking forward to your classes. Well, I must be off, but if you need anything else, feel free to meet with me at the front of the train."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Professor Potter."

And with that, she smiled briefly, and headed out.

The moment the door closed, Harry heard a loud gasp come from behind him.

There, completely awestruck, was Neville Longbottom, wide-eyed and completely speechless.

Harry rolled his eyes. He had to spend the rest of the trip trying to convince Neville that he was not the next DADA professor. And, as he knew it would be, by the time they began to slow down at the Hogsmeade station, every student on the train knew that Harry was in fact the new DADA teacher. Ironically, though it was not at all true, it was much closer to the truth than anyone suspected.

However, as much as everyone loved gossip, when they all exited the train, most discussion had died down, as most everyone was exhausted from the day's earlier events. It seemed only Harry and Professor McGonagall were upbeat, and Harry assumed his excitement came from finally arriving back at Hogwarts. But what truly raised his spirits came not as he exited the train, but what happened a few moments later.

Hagrid had come to speak to Professor McGonagall before taking the first years across the lake, and when he saw Harry, he smiled brightly.

"Well hello, Harry. Good t' see you. Guess you'll be taking the front car today."

"Uh, I don't know."

"Yes you will, Potter. You will be accompanying me as soon as I am done here. If you can give me a moment, you might want to let Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger know that you will be meeting with them after the feast."

"_After _the feast? So I won't be there then?"

"Everything will be explained by Professor Dumbledore when we arrive. I must talk to Hagrid now, Mr. Potter. I will meet you at the front car."

"Yes, Professor," Harry said in agreement.

He headed over and told Ron and Hermione what was going on. Though they didn't seem to have any ideas, they didn't seemed worried either. So he said a couple quick goodbyes and headed towards the nearest car.

By the time he had reached the front car, Professor McGonagall was already inside.

Harry was about to ask what was going on when the car jerked forward. This was not like his past three experiences on the cars with Ron and Hermione. They seemed to be heading much much faster.

Just as he had composed himself and sat back up, the car was already coming to a stop.

"What was that?" he asked McGonagall.

"The first car always travels faster than the rest, Potter. It will give us an extra ten minutes before the rest of the students arrive.

"Wow," Harry said in amazement.

"Now," McGonagall said quickly, "I have some things to do before the feast, but if you would please meet Professor Dumbledore in the Great Hall, he has a few things to go over before things get started."

"Yes Ma'am." Harry replied.

McGonagall headed upstairs towards her office and Harry headed to his right, and walked through the doors of the Great Hall.

Up front was Dumbledore, Professors Flitwick, Snape, and Grubbly-Plank.

Harry approached the Head table and was welcomed quite exuberantly by Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry. Good to see you. Harry, you of course know everyone," he said, waving his arm around the table.

"My fellow Professors, I know some of you may have wondered whether young Harry here was up to the task of taking charge of the Duelling class we will be hosting this year. However, I believe that earlier events have shown that he is more than up to the task," he said brightly.

_Leave it to Dumbledore to find the good in a situation like that._ Harry thought.

"Now Harry, there are a few last minute things I would like to let you in on. First, though you will still be sitting at the Gryffindor table during our day to day meals, that chair over there," he said, pointing to the second one down from Dumbledore's left, "will be reserved for you. You should always feel welcome to use it whenever you like, though there would be some times where it would be most appropriate, as I feel it would tonight."

That explained a lot. He wanted to have Harry there early to prepare for being at the Head Table like the rest of the Professors. Of course, there was one other reason that Harry was about to discover.

"Ah, and here comes our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and your new Occlumency Professor," he said, looking over Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned around, and the moment his eyes locked on the new professor Harry gasped, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, and a moment later he found his voice.

"Charlie?" he gawked. "Charlie Weasley?

-=--=- 

Coming Soon 

Chapter 11

Back To School


	11. Chapter 11 Guests at Hogwarts

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

**Chapter 11**

**Guests at Hogwarts**

"Good to see you again, Harry," Charlie said with a broad smile.

"Charlie!" Harry all but shouted. "I can't believe it. You're the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor?"

"The very same. And that's not all. It seems Professor Dumbledore has asked me to work alongside him to help you with another subject this year."

"You mean the Duelling Class?"

"Ahem," came Dumbledore's voice from the staff table. Harry turned around.

"I believe the students will be filing in soon, and I would prefer if we conclude this discussion in my office after the feast, if it's not too much of an inconvenience."

Even if it were a problem, Harry would never have said a thing about it. Charlie and Harry headed back to the table. As it turned out, Harry was seated to the right of Professor McGonagall with Charlie on his right, followed by Snape, Hagrid, and one last teacher Harry was not familiar with.

no-oneHarry and Charlie spoke for a few moments, but their voices were quite rapidly drowned out by the sound of hundreds of feet pouring into the Great Hall. That, however, was nothing compared to the speed in which the silence overtook the Great Hall a few moments later when some of the students realised that Harry was sitting at the staff table.

Before Harry could finish saying how good Charlie looked in his new Professor's robe, the Great Hall was silent, less the sound of the last students taking their seats.

no-oneOver five hundred eyes were jogging from Dumbledore to Harry and back again. And that's when a sudden panic struck him.

There was a feeling of overwhelming dread as he looked at all those eyes, just watching him, each asking the same question. What was a sixth year student doing sitting at the staff table.

Harry began to feel queasy. A thousand thoughts began to swarm through his head, and he felt like he just might faint.

Both Charlie and Professor McGonagall seemed to notice as they each asked him if he was alright, and though he waved them both off, he was truly having the worst panic attack of his life.

Finally, as though through a dream, he heard Sirius's voice coming from somewhere just beyond him, and for a moment he thought that Sirius's ghost had come to Hogwarts after all. But then the voice got a bit louder, and he could tell it was coming from his pocket.

This couldn't have come at a better time, as it was just enough to focus on that Harry snapped himself out of his attack and pull out the mirror.

He looked down into the mirror and said hello.

"So you've made it alright then?" he asked.

"Yea, I'm okay."

"Are you sure? You look a bit flustered."

"Yea, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit nervous. I wasn't expecting to be sitting at the staff table tonight, and after what happened at King's Cross, I guess I'm just a bit rattled."

Just then he realised how odd it must looked to see him talking to his lap, but when he looked up he was relieved to see that the Sorting Hat had just been placed on its stool and all eyes were on it instead of him.

"I've got to go. They're about to start the sorting. I'll call you when we're done."

"Don't worry about it. Remus and I will meet you at Dumbledore's office after the feast, and we can talk then."

"All right then. And Sirius, thanks for everything," he said with a smile.

Sirius smiled back and nodded, and then disappeared from the frame. Harry put the mirror in his pocket and looked up just in time to see Professor McGonagall open the list of students who were to be sorted.

He searched around at the new faces, most of which looked way too young to be in school. He bent over and whispered in Charlie's ear, "Was I ever that young?"

Charlie smiled broadly.

"We were all that young at some point, but they do look a bit younger from this table, don't they. Half of them barely know who Voldemort is or why they fear him, and yet right now they all acted as though they'd rather come face to face with him than sit on that stool."

Harry chuckled. "I remember when I was up there. You know, the Sorting Hat actually gave me the choice to go to Slytherin. Of course, I would have taken anything but Slytherin, and that's when it put me in Gryffindor."

"Me too. Only, I was asked if I wanted to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Can you guess why I chose Gryffindor?"

"Cause they're the coolest?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Well, there's that too. But the main reason is…"

But Harry didn't find out what Charlie's main reason for joining Gryffindor was because at that moment he was interrupted by a silence that could only precede Dumbledore's opening remarks to the students, and sure enough, a moment later Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak.

"Before we start the feast, I have one announcement to make."

Harry's stomach churned a bit, nervous of being addressed in front of everyone, but true to form, Dumbledore's announcement was as far off the wall as it could possibly be.

"Ehem. It was exactly a year ago, today. Thank you."

After a short pause, every student, less the first years, stood in a thunderous applause. A moment later the food appeared and everyone dug in.

Harry spent the next hour talking to Charlie about his adventures at school and Charlie's adventures with dragons. They each kept one-upping each other until Harry finally raised with the Tri-Wizard tournament, and Charlie relented.

Finally, just as everyone was finishing desert, pumpkin pie and strawberry ice-cream for Harry, Dumbledore stood once more and clapped his hands together. It took less than five seconds for the Great Hall to go completely silent.

"I would like to welcome everyone back to Hogwarts, and a special hello to our first years. I do have a few new announcements this year, but I'll begin with a few reminders for our new students."

"First of all, I would remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden, to all students who enjoy full use of all of their limbs. Secondly, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that a full record of the school rules, along with forty-seven new rules and amendments, are available to read on his office door, and a copy of them has been posted in each of the common rooms."

A few snickers came from the Gryffindor table, and Harry was sure that the twins had a whole plan of tricks to pull on Filch this year.

"Also, a reminder that all third years and above who wish to visit Hogsmeade must have their signed permission slips turned into Mr. Filch or their head of house before the first weekend which will be, if memory serves, the third weekend of September."

"And finally, I would like to congratulate Mrs. Cho Chang and Mr. Mathew Montague as this years Head Girl and Boy. I know they will do us proud."

There was another round of applause, though this one much less emphatic than before, though Harry's hands were hurting him by the time the applause had died out.

"Now that's done," Dumbledore continued, "I have a few new announcements to make. First, I would like to welcome back to class a student whom, due to an unfortunate injustice, has been unable to complete his final years at Hogwarts, and the Ministry has allowed him to return to complete his training. So please join me in welcoming Mr. Rubeus Hagrid back into our classes."

There was a tremendous roar of applause from the Gryffindor table, as well as a large applause from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Very few Slytherins did more than sneer, but Hagrid hadn't noticed, as he was whipping away the tears from his eyes. He was obviously very moved by the show of support.

After the noise died down, Dumbledore continued.

"And since we are welcoming new students to our school, I would like to also welcome Professor Charles Smith of the Magical Arts School of the State of California in the United States of America. He, along with twelve of his students, will be joining us for the year to learn how we do things here at Hogwarts. I expect they will be welcomed with open arms."

A tall blonde gentleman walked through the door with twelve kids, ranging from ages thirteen through seventeen, as far as Harry could tell. There were seven boys and five girls in all, and they seemed to be blissfully happy, though the applause was considerably less than that for Hagrid or Cho. However, whatever was lacking in the applause was made up for with the murmurs that swept the hall. It was a few minutes before everything was calm again.

"And lastly, there are some changes that will be made to the curriculum this year. First, since Mr. Hagrid has come back to school to complete his training, Professor Grubbly-Plank will be taking over Care of Magical Creatures for the next year. Also, taking the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts is a Hogwarts graduate and somewhat of a Quidditch legend, Mr. Charles Weasley."

Silence swept the room for a moment, and then an applause that nearly deafened Harry overtook the room and lasted for nearly three minutes. Charlie had risen and tried to sit back down five times before the room finally settled once more, and Dumbledore looked over at Harry and nodded, and Harry's stomach fell. It was time, and all Harry wanted was to grab his invisibility cloak and disappear forever.

"And finally, I would like to address something that happened last year. A group of students organised a club in which they were able to practice spells and honed their duelling skills. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to review the end-of-term test scores from last year's Defence Against the Dark Arts class, as well as the fifth-year's OWL results, and I am proud to say that we had a record breaking total of OWL levels, with a total score of ninety seven."

A collective gasp swarmed the hall, followed by another round of applause, this one the loudest yet.

Charlie bent over and whispered in Harry's ear, "You know, your father's class used to hold that record. I remember hearing about it when I took my OWLs. They totalled out at sixty-two."

"And as proud as I would be of any class scoring that high, I am even more proud of those students knowing that they were, unfortunately, given very little instruction from their Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor whom, for reasons of her own, felt she did not need to teach any practical lessons. However, one student took it upon himself to lead this group and teach those students who asked for his help. And so, after considering it for quite some time, I have decided that the continuation of such a class should become a regular part of the school curriculum."

There was a low buzz throughout the hall, the students whispering to their neighbours.

"And so, I have appointed Professor Severus Snape to head the Art of Duelling class, which begins next week."

A very loud series of gasps ran throughout the room, especially around the Gryffindor table, and several students made to get up, but Dumbledore continued before they made it to their feet.

"In addition, a student, acting with the full power of a professor, will be joining Professor Snape in a team effort to help educate the school in every aspect of duelling in their combined power. Now what makes me so very proud to appoint this student as the Deputy Professor is the action he took today during the attacks at King's Cross."

The soft whisper threatened to rise again, but was silenced the moment Dumbledore began to speak again.

"This young man showed today a grace under pressure that many of the finest Aurors I have ever known in my many years have never, even on their best days, ever shown the promise of doing. He not only represented his own house with dignity, but showed Lord Voldemort that no student at Hogwarts is to be taken lightly."

"This student exhibited the strength of heart of a true Gryffindor and an incredible Slytherin-like cunning when he faced down five Death Eaters on his own. He also showed the loyalties of Helga Hufflepuff by protecting both his friends, as well as perfect strangers. He showed also the wisdom of Rowena Ravenclaw by seeking out help when he could do no more, and it was solely because of this decision that help arrived as quickly as it did. Had it not been for him, we surely would have lost many more Muggle lives, as well as several young wizards and witches before things were brought back under control. And it is with these acts that he has proven that he is truly the right man for the job."

At this point Harry knew that everyone was staring at him, and even if he were not at the staff table, he would surely be the centre of attention, as his face was a very bright crimson red.

"And so, without any further ado, I present to you our newest addition to the Hogwarts staff, and the youngest person ever to hold the position of Professor at this school, Deputy Professor Harry Potter." Dumbledore waved his hand in Harry's direction as he made the final introduction with the largest smile Harry had ever seen on his face, and Harry, if it were possible, turned an even brighter shade of red.

Half of the Great Hall jumped up in applause, the whistles and clapping growing louder and louder until, after a little help from Charlie, Harry finally stood up and gave a quick bow before settling back into his chair. Nobody from the Slytherin table had moved, but Harry took no notice.

"And on a related note," Dumbledore said, trying to calm things back down, "we have one final student who will be joining us here at Hogwarts, and in my many years as Headmaster, it has never been my experience to ever have a student under my care as rare as this young man. Mr. Dursley, would you kindly come forward," Dumbledore said to Dudley, who had been sitting with the rest of the small group of American students. After a quick pause, he stood up, smiled shyly, and headed to the front of the hall.

"Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pride that I introduce to you the first Slyder to Hogwarts in nearly two centuries. Now, Mr. Dursley, if you would please take a seat, I believe we have one more student for the Sorting Hat today before we all go to bed."

Professor McGonagall walked over to Dudley with the hat in her hands, and placed it on Dudley's head. Harry was quite shocked when, after barely touching the hair on Dudley's head, the Sorting Hat cried out "Hufflepuff!" Harry had not seen the Sorting Hat make such a quick decision since it had been placed on Malfoy's head.

"Thank you very much. You may now take a seat at your table. Or better yet, as it has been a long day, I think it is time for bed. And as tomorrow is Friday, and I have never seen much use to starting school on the last day of the week, classes will begin on Monday. However, I would appreciate it if everyone would find themselves in bed at a reasonable hour, as I am told Professor Weasley has an extra special surprise in store for us all tomorrow."

And with that, the students began to get up and head to their respective houses, and Harry couldn't help but notice that there was a larger than normal crowd going out the left door following Dudley. In some way he couldn't quite figure out, he actually wished he could help Dudley get to his house without being bombarded so much, but it seemed Professor Sprout had spotted the problem and, as the Head of House for Hufflepuff, she headed over to protect her student from being overrun.

But Harry would not be so lucky. Though the day seemed to have lasted a year, and though he could just barely remember leaving the Dursley's just ten hours ago, he still had to meet up with Dumbledore in his office. But of course, there was the advantage of being able to see Sirius and Remus up there, and that was just enough to keep his spirits high enough so that he was able to catch a second wind by the time he made it to the gargoyle statue which opened to the door leading to Dumbledore's office.

He was just realising that he did not know the password when Professor Dumbledore came up from behind him and said "Jolly Rancher," which prompted the griffin to twist up and out of his way, leaving a staircase behind for them to climb up.

Harry gave way to Dumbledore, and they headed up to his office. As soon as they entered his office, Dumbledore headed straight to the back of his office where several members of the Order stood in wait.

As Dumbledore spoke to the Order members, Harry looked around the office, checking for Sirius, and he soon found him in the portrait where Phineas Nigellus usually stood.

"Hello Harry," he said with a huge smile. "How are you doing?"

"Alright, I guess," Harry said softly.

"Come now, Harry. You should be feeling pretty good about yourself right now. From what I heard, you took on half a dozen Death Eaters all by yourself. Any wizard should be proud to do so well, but for someone who's not even finished Hogwarts, that's something to celebrate. I tell ya, if that had been James, he'd be up all night throwing a party."

"But I didn't do anything, really. I was under the invisibility cloak the entire time, and I'd have probably been killed had it not been for Moody."

"Harry," Sirius sighed. "How long do you think Moody was watching you for?"

"About three minutes, if memory serves," came a gruff voice to Harry's left. no-one

He turned to see his old DADA professor standing there with a broad smile.

"I wanted to see what you could do. And for the record, I have little doubt that you would have handled things fine on your own. Frankly, I was just getting a bit antsy just sitting there and watching," he added with a smirk.

Harry had a feeling that Moody was stroking his ego a bit, but he smiled back all the same. Come to think of it, he had really done well for himself. After all, even though he had the invisibility cloak, he was still surrounded by Death Eaters, and he came out without a scratch.

"I only wish I had been there to help out. I'd have loved to face down a few them myself." Just as Sirius said this, something clicked in Harry's brain.

"You know, Bellatrix was there too."

"Bellatrix Lestrange? Wait a minute. Isn't she the one who…"

"Yeah, she's the one," Harry interrupted. He didn't want to hear the word _killed_. It still seemed to final.

"One thing I can tell you, though," added Moody. "I don't think she'll be too happy when she wakes up tomorrow morning. Harry hit her with a banishing spell so hard she flew a good twenty or thirty feet and landed pretty hard. Then the old bat tries to get up again, takes one look over at Harry there, and passes out. 'One of the greatest shot I've seen in fifteen years."

"Good for you, Harry. Don't think I could have done any better myself."

"I've seen your aim, Sirius. Trust me. In your best days you couldn't tie Harry's shoe. He's got James's aim, dead and true."

"Oh. Well then, I guess we got the right man for the Duelling Classes. You know James almost took the Defence Against the Dark Arts job here. But they just couldn't keep him locked up at this school."

Harry was going to ask why, but then he felt a presence standing just behind him, and everyone looked over his shoulder.

Harry turned around and was suddenly staring up into the crystal blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

And without warning, just as it was a year earlier, he heard a voice in the back of his head that kept telling him to attack his Headmaster, and it was plainly obvious that Dumbledore had noticed.

However, this time it was less powerful than the last time. This time it was just a little whisper in the back of his head that egged him on. He began to concentrate, trying to block out the voice, and as he did he could see Dumbledore's lips move, though he couldn't hear what was being said.

Harry clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and concentrated. Slowly, so very slowly, the voice began to fade further and further away. And then, quite abruptly and instead of fading away as Harry had hoped and expected, it had simply disappeared. With a sigh of relief, Harry relaxed. And that's when it happened.

Shadowing the shape of Harry's scar, a bolt of pain like lightning shot against Harry's forehead like no pain he had felt before. Each of the previous times that Harry's scar hurt it had been a burning feeling that seared from the inside out. This was the exact opposite. It felt as though someone was using a brand on his forehead, trying to burn it straight through his skull.

Harry dropped to one knee, grasping his head in his hands, and as he pulled them away, he noticed something else that had never happened before. His scar was bleeding.

Then the pain subsided, just a bit, and then laughter began to fill his head. It swept over him and he could hear nothing of what anybody in the room was saying. Tears filled his eyes as he tried as hard as he could to fight the pain, and it was not easy.

Someone picked him up by his arms, though he had no idea who it was. Then, in a soft voice, he heard Dumbledore saying, "Keep fighting him, Harry. Voldemort has power over you only so long as you give it to him. But we both know you can defeat him. You simply have to keep fighting."

From deep within his chest he felt a tugging, but it wasn't against him; it was with him. It began pulling him up and giving him a second wind. Then a fire began to build up.

He began to have quick flashes; Voldemort killing his parents, the fire grew even more. Cedric in the cemetery, Sirius in the Department of Mysteries, the Muggles just hours ago, and the fire grew each time as though it were trying to envelope him. no-one

Finally, as though inspired by the heat growing in his chest he cried out, "Incendio!"

And then he collapsed.

For a few moments Harry sat there, eyes closed, and all was completely silent. Then, faintly at first, then more clearly everything seemed to come back to him. no-one

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up at everyone who stood there, worried looks on their faces, and their voices began to become clearer, until he could distinguish one person from the next.

"Are you alright?" asked Remus and Charlie.

"Take some chocolate, boy," McGonagall kept repeating.

Even Snape seemed mildly concerned and asked, "Do you need me to fetch the nurse?" in an annoyed but concerned voice.

Oddly, Dumbledore did not seem at all concerned, but on the contrary seemed quite happy. Everyone else continued to ask Harry if he was okay, but Harry's eyes were locked on Dumbledore until he finally said, quite plainly, "Congratulations, Harry. I knew that Professor Snape had made some excellent progress with you as of late, but that was truly incredible. I am sure that Voldemort will have to think twice before trying to use your link against you once again."

As though on cue, Harry's scar began to hurt again. Although this time felt much more familiar, and it was almost immediately obvious to Harry what was happening this time, and a smirk crossed his lips even through the pain.

"He's not happy," he giggled in a silly manner. "Not happy at all."

"Very good, Harry. But as good as it is to know of Voldemort's unhappiness, I would be much happier if you did not know."

Harry nodded. Again he closed his eyes and concentrated. This time he felt for his medallion, but found it was not there. It was still packed in his trunk.

However, it seemed much easier this time to block Voldemort's thoughts as it seemed there was much less of a fight versus the last time. But Harry was exhausted, and though he was able to clear his head a bit, his scar still hurt, and he could still feel a shadow of Voldemort's anger looming somewhere inside himself.

After a few more minutes Harry was able to clear his thoughts enough to feel that they were his own again.

He looked up into the face of Dumbledore whom had a look of pride that Harry could not ever remember seeing. He looked around and saw that everyone seemed to have caught what had happened and they too seemed proud of Harry. And to his surprise, the first words of praise were not from his Headmaster, nor from either of his godfathers, but from Snape.

"It seems that you have truly grasped the art of Occlumency, Mr. Potter. Were you to take such pride in your Potions class you would have been at the top of my class. As it is, I have put you still on the class schedule for Advanced Potions. Should you show the same favour for that class as for Occlumency, I think you may still prove a worthy potion maker."

Snape gave a single nod, then turned to Professor Dumbledore before Harry could speak, though truth be told Harry would not have found words to describe his thoughts.

"Headmaster," he said in his softest voice. "Seeing as how classes will not begin until next Monday, and as today has been a very trying day, might I suggest that we put off our meeting until tomorrow?"

"Indeed, though I would like to speak to Harry and Remus myself for a few moments. Professor McGonagall, I believe our talk can wait until tomorrow as well. Shall we say ten o'clock tomorrow morning, then? That will give us all a chance to relax and recuperate from today's events quite nicely. Thank you to the rest of you for coming, and I hope to see each of you again soon under better circumstances."

"Absolutely. I shall do my evening check and meet you in the morning before breakfast to discuss those other matters with you."

"Indeed, Minerva. And thank you both for understanding."

Professors McGonagall and Snape both made to follow the rest of the Order through Dumbledore's door, but before he could stop himself, Harry addressed Snape once more, though he could hardly believe the words that came from his mouth.

"Professor Snape?" he called.

Snape turned slowly around and looked back at Harry.

"Thanks for your help. I don't think I'd have survived that just then if it not for your help."

After a small pause Snape replied, "You are welcome, Mr. Potter," in an amazingly soft tone, then turned and walked out the door.

A few moments passed before Dumbledore offered both Harry and Remus a seat at his desk.

"Harry," he said at last, "today has been a day for which few of us shall ever forget, and I would think it likely that even as we speak, many of the books in the library are updating themselves with today's events. For today, Harry, you showed a remarkable amount of strength and courage that even I had not fully expected."

Harry began to blush. He thought to himself that he had not done anything that someone else in his shoes would not have done themselves, but to hear it from Dumbledore was a praise that Harry could not feel worthy of.

"Do not belittle what you have done today," Dumbledore said, reading Harry's face. "Bravery is not only measured in what we do upon instinct, but also in continuing to do the right thing even after you realise the danger you put yourself in. We lost the lives of two Muggles today. That is a grievous loss not only to the Muggle community, but to the entire world. But had you not interfered, the number of casualties would have been much greater. And from what I heard from Moody, your skills were far beyond many Aurors I have met in my day."

Harry felt a warmness cover his body at hearing Dumbledore's words. He could not help but smile. Even though he himself had accomplished everything Dumbledore had spoken of, it sounded like a tall tale of a hero that he would surely like to meet.

"Now I want you to know how very proud I am of you, as are all of the members of the Order, for all you've done today. That is why, even though I know you are very tired, I wanted to speak with you tonight. I felt you should go to bed knowing how far you have come over the past five years; further, in fact, than even I had known until this very day. So I make this promise to you, Harry. If you ever have questions that are within my power to answer, I shall do so willingly."

Harry could hear the lock of a door somewhere in his mind click open as a flood of questions invaded his mind, but he knew this was not the time to ask, though he quickly came upon an opportune time to ask.

"I do have a few more things I would like to discuss with you, however I feel that today's burdens have weighed too greatly to go over them just now, so I thought we might meet here tomorrow at seven-thirty to finish this conversation then, just before the rest of our staff drop by."

The moment Dumbledore had finished talking, as though Harry had just realised this had all happened during the course of this one day, a tremendous feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed him and for a moment he thought he just might pass out. He attempted to thank Dumbledore for his time, but found he had no more energy than to simply nod his head and smile weakly.

"Very good," Dumbledore said, clapping his hands together. "Now then, I shall bid you all a good night and take my leave so you may say goodnight to Sirius, and then I believe Remus has volunteered to escort you back to his house, if only for the night."

Harry lifted his head as if to speak, but Dumbledore added quickly, "And I would not worry about informing Mr. Weasley or Miss Granger, as I believe they are waiting for you just outside the door."

Again Harry smiled and nodded back to his Headmaster and was able to find enough energy to say thanks before getting up and walking out, very slowly, with his godfather in tow.

Again, as always it seemed, Dumbledore was right. Ron and Hermione were standing just outside the door waiting for Harry. Normally this would constitute breaking the rules, but as they were both prefects, they were allowed to roam the halls freely at night.

At once they began to bombard him with questions, but Remus quickly interrupted them.

"Harry has had a long day and will be staying with me in Hogsmeade tonight. However, only the four of us, Madam Pomfrey, and Dumbledore will be aware that Harry will not be staying here tonight, and we need to keep it that way. Therefore, I am going to escort him to the hospital wing first, and then he and I will use a few passages from the map to make our way down to the lake where a boat is waiting for us. If you wish to come along, I would be happy for the company, but I need to ask that you not bother Harry. He has had a longer day than even you know about."

"What happened?" they asked together.

"Voldemort tried to invade Harry's thoughts again while we were upstairs with Dumbledore. He was, however, able to fight it, but at great cost to himself. He needs a great deal of rest, and we feel it likely that he will not receive it back at Gryffindor house."

"But is he okay?" Ron asked, clearly upset.

"He will be fine with a bit of rest. Madam Pomfrey will be giving him something he can take to help him sleep."

Suddenly, Remus took on a rash look and slapped his knee.

"Damn. I forgot about the medallion. Ron, do you think you could get to…"

But before Remus could finish Ron had interrupted, "I'll meet you down at the docks under the castle."

"Right," Remus nodded in agreement.

Before Ron had even made it around the corner Remus and Hermione had turned the other way and headed towards the hospital wing. They arrived a few minutes later where Madam Pomfrey was waiting with two large glasses, one covered, the other open and emanating a light smoke.

"Here now," she said, looking at Harry. "Put him up on the bed. I still can't believe they did not bring him here the moment he arrived, but then a feast is always more important than one's health." She continued her complaints as she looked Harry over, gave him several pieces of chocolate and sips of the smoking drink.

After a few minutes of checking him over she finally smiled. "Well, I dare say I have seen more of you, Mr. Potter, than any other student in this school, except maybe for Mr. Longbottom, and it seems you've become a bit more adept at learning to keep yourself in good health. However, I want you to get a good night's sleep tonight. That drink should keep you keen until you get to Mr. Lupin's home, but I want you to take this draught as soon as you get there. It should give you a solid night's sleep."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Harry replied.

"If you want to thank me, just try to make sure that I don't get too many students coming in from yourDuellin_g _class." She said the word duelling as though it was second only to Voldemort, but Harry felt too tired to say anything, even as his limbs were beginning to feel somewhat alive again.

"I'll do my best," he replied softly, then made to get up and leave.

"Not so fast, Mr. Potter. The Headmaster asked me to hand this to you," she said as she handed him a small bronze cup. "He said that you were to make sure you and Mr. Lupin were to be outside his home just before seven-thirty and to have both of you holding this cup. I suppose you might understand what that means better than I," she said, trailing off.

"Thank you," he replied with a smile. no-one

Ten minutes later the three of them were coming down the final steps approaching the docks and found Ron was already sitting there waiting for them.

"I was starting to wonder if you were still coming," he said with a smirk.

"Thank you, Ron," said Harry with a renewed vigour. By the time they had made it down from the hospital wing Harry had begun to feel better than he had all day, and all that happened before began to fade as though it all belonged to a bad dream.

Remus and Harry boarded the boat and after a few final words set out to the other side of the lake.

They talked very little on their ride over the lake and spent most of their time just staring up at the stars. Last year Firenze had told everyone in Divination that the stars could foresee events not of the individuals, but of the whole world. As he looked up now he noticed that the stars seemed to move with a speed he'd never seen before, as though the sky itself was unsure which direction it was moving.

He laid back and watched some more until finally Remus called to him and he looked up to find they were less than ten meters from the shore, a small dock awaiting their arrival.

Soon they were walking through the back woods, which would have made Harry worry, but for the fact that the road, as it turned out, was less than a minute's walk from the dock.

Another five-minute walk down the road and Harry found himself in the back niches of Hogsmeade. Remus's place was only the third house down on the right. It was a large white house that, it would seem, had been turned into several smaller flats. Remus's was the flat on the top right side of the house, which had its own staircase leading up from the outside.

It turned out that just as he had found true with most wizarding cars, Remus's place here was much bigger than it appeared outside. Looking from the front you would expect a three or four bedroom house, yet Remus's place alone had two bedroom, an office, a complete kitchen and dining room, and a very large living room, which was the room they first saw when the entered the front door.

They had a cup of tea and Harry drank the draught that Madam Pomfrey had given him which tasted quite a bit like a cucumber shake, and they talked for a few more minutes before Harry finally began to fall victim to his drink and headed off to bed. He had enough strength to get the medallion around his neck, but it seemed that the effort to reach the bed there after was too much, and his eyes fell closed the moment he reached the bed, still in his Hogwarts robes.

It seemed no more than ten minutes later that Remus was knocking on the door and telling Harry that he needed to wake up.

"It's a quarter to seven, and I don't think we'd want you to meet up with Dumbledore on an empty stomach. I've left a full set of clothes in the dresser and there should be fresh towels under the bathroom sink. I'll get breakfast going while you get ready."

Harry mumbled a quick thanks and got out of bed.

Fifteen minutes later Harry came out to meet his godfather, his hair still a bit wet.

"You know," Remus began with a smile, "I've noticed you're growing your hair out a bit."

"Yeah. It's part of the Animagus training that McGonagall is having me do. First we change our eye colour, then length our fingernails, and then the length of our hair. I haven't checked what we have to change next, but I think I heard Hermione say something about our noses. Personally, I like my nose just as it is."

"Well, just make sure you change it back, cause I just noticed your eyes are more brown than green."

"Oh. Just a moment then," Harry said, then closed his eyes for a moment, imagining the emerald green eyes of his mother. When he re-opened his eyes, Remus smiled.

"That's better," he said approvingly.

"You know, I've been looking at the book and I can't seem to figure out what the difference is between a Metamorphmagus and an Animagus, outside of what they decide to change into."

"Actually, until a few months ago I didn't know myself. But when I found out that you were going to be taking lessons to become an Animagus, I started studying it myself, and I think I can answer that for you. You see, a Metamorphmagus can alter the shape and colour of their body with ease, but they tend to have a great difficulty in altering size. It seems to hurt quite a bit if they try, and it actually takes much longer for a Metamorphmagus to become an Animagus, if in fact they can do it at all. Very few have attempted it, and there are less than a handful of wizards throughout all of history that succeeded."

"Oh. Spending a bit of time with Hermione?" he asked with a silly smirk.

"No, Harry. Some people study to learn, not just so they can play Quidditch. I tell ya, you're becoming more and more like your father every day."

Harry stood up and puffed up his chest and shoulders.

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much."

"I can think of no other way to take it," he replied with a smile.

They headed to the dining room and sat down to a spot of breakfast. They spoke a little more and Harry found out that Remus would be staying in Hogsmeade for the majority of the year, with the exception of a few days when he would be heading back to his brother's home.

With five minutes to spare they headed to the back yard and awaited their trip back to Hogwarts. At precisely seven-thirty Harry felt the familiar tug behind his naval and began the quick trip back to Hogwarts.

The moment he landed he understood why Dumbledore had given them the portkey.

He and Remus were standing before Dumbledore's desk right where the seats should have been, and just after they landed he felt a soft tapping at the back of his knees. When he turned around he saw Dumbledore's chairs trying to move back to where they belonged.

"Have a seat, both of you," Dumbledore said with a smile. Then, turning towards Harry, he asked in a concerned voice, "Did you have a good night's rest, Harry?"

"Yes sir. I slept quite well, really, though I don't much remember it. It was pretty much like I went to sleep and woke up a minute later, though I feel like I've had enough rest for a week."

"Very good. Poppy said she had given you a Dreamless Sleep Potion to help you rest, and I'm glad to see it worked." Then Dumbledore's face took on a more serious look and Harry knew it was time for one of those talks.

"Now Harry. I want to ask you something, and I do not want you to hold back any thoughts because you might hurt my feelings, alright?"

This seemed a very queer question, but Harry nodded in agreement all the same.

"Harry, I want to know if you feel up to working as the Art of Duelling Professor as well as all of the other responsibilities you have. I know that you have a very full plate, and I would not want you to over extend yourself this year. If my count is correct you have five complete classes, plus Occlumency, Animagus training, Quidditch, and a total of six Art of Duelling Classes, if I understand Professor Snape correctly."

"Actually, I think it's six classes, plus everything else. But the thing is, I don't really have to worry about half of those. I mean, I'll only be doing Animagus training two days a week, Occlumency two times a week, and Quidditch Practice three times a week. If I put aside two hours a day, all of those even out pretty well. As far as the Duelling classes, well I'll be doing six of those, but I won't have three other classes a week, at least one of which would have been a double class, so I'd only be really taking two extra classes a week, and half of them are repeats of what I'd done in the other class. Plus, Professor Snape and I agreed that we would switch running the fifth and sixth year classes, so I could do homework from some of my other classes then."

"Would you care for something to drink?" Dumbledore asked abruptly.

Harry was taken aback for a moment until Dumbledore added, "I apologise. It seems you have gotten everything figured out, and that once again I have underestimated you. You really must stop that before everyone throughout Hogwarts thinks I'm losing my touch." Dumbledore smiled broadly and Harry could feel himself warm as he realised Dumbledore's words.

"Sorry, sir. I'll try to keep more in line," Harry replied with a slight grin. He was relieved to see that Dumbledore too was smiling.

"Very well then. If you believe you can handle that schedule, who am I to argue. Now, there are a few other things I do need to discuss with you. First, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I feel obligated to request that you leave any affiliations with fellow students at the door. It does not do to remember either friends or rivals when teaching a class."

"Understood sir," Harry said obediently. Dumbledore smiled in response.

"Secondly, I would guess that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will soon ask why it is that they are studying Animagus forms of common animals while you are studying the forms of the more unique creatures which inhabit this planet, if they have not already asked. I felt it would only be prudent to tell you why now."

"Well, they haven't asked, at least not yet, but I have been a bit curious myself. Especially regarding some of the beasts that are in that book. Did you know there are dragons and vestals listed in there?"

"Indeed I did. In fact, the form I take was suggested to me by an earlier version of that very book, though now is neither the time nor place for that discussion. However, we were talking about why you were given that book, and the reason is quite simple. As I have suspected for some time now, and what was all but proven last June, is that there is more than just a basic connection between yourself and Voldemort."

"But you've told me all this before. Voldemort transferred some of his power to me when he tried to kill me after he killed my Mum and Dad."

"Indeed. However, since we last spoke of that many things have happened, and I have been doing a great deal of research, and it has led me to only one undeniable conclusion. A part of Lord Voldemort lives within you."

Harry's eyes turned bright red as the shock of these words overtook him, complete terror overtaking him.

"Do not despair, Harry, for this is not bad news. Let me explain. As I was going through my library over the past few years, I happened upon a book which describes a similar event to your survival of the killing curse some eight hundred and fifty years ago. It is, however, not widely known of because it so happens that the book it is written in recants the diary of the great Merlin."

"Merlin? As in King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?"

"The very same. He was a great wizard, you see, one of the greatest of all times in fact. However, what is not widely known is that much of his power was not his own, at least not at birth. You see, Merlin, like you, had been the victim of an attack when he was young, though he was in fact closer to five or six years of age when his parents were murdered, and it had been his father who sacrificed himself for his son. However, the effects were the same, and that is the reason why Merlin had such a great amount of power at such a young age."

"It seems, however, that the wizard that tried to kill him had not taken the same precautions that Voldemort had, and so he perished in that same attack. But years later Merlin came to find that he had two separate auras, one well defined and bright, the other much more faint, but there all the same."

"So the other wizard's spirit was trapped inside him? But that means that a part of Voldemort's spirit is trapped in me. How do I get it out…?"

"Do not be so hasty, Harry, and you needn't worry that you might have Voldemort's spirit trapped in you. If that were true, he would be the same as if he had been given the Dementor's Kiss. That, however, is not the case. What has happened, as Merlin discovered, is something both wonderful, and terrible. You see, when Voldemort attacked you that day, he did so out of anger and hatred, and as so became consumed. He became completely void of any good, but it had to go somewhere, and so the same shield of love that protected you also drew from him all that was good in him, and all of his power followed."

"I don't understand," Harry said blatantly. "How's that any different than having part of his soul, even if it is the good part?"

"Well, if I were to give you a book that I wrote and you were to read it, would you then have taken into yourself part of my spirit? No, because all I am giving you is an explanation of my experiences. The same applies here. The only difference here is that since Voldemort did not die, the good and evil in him were separated, purified if you will, with the full concentration of evil remaining here while the good, attracted to the aura of love your mother left upon you, used you as a conduit to pass on from this world. Merlin believed this process added to his ability to understand the fight between good and evil at an early age, and though you were only exposed to the good essence of Voldemort, I expect the same basic experience happened to you."

"That pure good, no matter how little it may have been, has left its mark on you and, until a year ago, had been left completely void in Voldemort. That is why he could never touch you. But that all changed when he used your blood to resurrect himself, and I suspect that some day he may come to regret that choice. You see, he may have the mask of the good he lost so many years ago, but it's just that, a mask. It may allow him to touch you without causing himself harm, but it's just an illusion and has not added to his soul. That, I expect, will be a mistake that will cost him everything he holds dear. But we have no control over his actions, only our own."

"And that brings me to the most important part, Harry. The original imprint he left on you, with all the magic power that came with it, is and always will be a part of you. It is now up to you, now that you know all that I know regarding your connection with him, whether you wish to resent where this power and connection came from or accept it as your own. Either way, even if you do someday bring about the end of Voldemort's reign as the Dark Lord, you will have to come to terms with the fact that this power will stay with you for the rest of your life, and this is one thing that nobody, not even myself, can do any more to help you with."

Harry didn't respond. No matter how Dumbledore put it, it all seemed to be different ways of saying that a part of Voldemort would be a part of him for as long as he lived, and there was no way of saying that which would make it sound any better.

"Now Harry, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but it can be good news. The unusually pure magic which flows through you now will allow you access to things even Voldemort can't imagine. That's why you alone were chosen to be the one to defeat Voldemort, as I have recently concluded is inevitable. It's up to you, Harry, and I have no doubt you will triumph."

"But what does all this have to do with me becoming an Animagus?" Harry asked, trying to find any way to change the subject.

"It has everything to do with it. Though you are still but one man, you do carry with you the power of two, with the auras to match. This gives you a greater familiarity with all magic including that which allows you to become an Animagus. With such a strong connection to magic you are able to exceed the abilities of most wizards, such as being an Occlumens and most likely upon further training, even a pretty strong Legilimens, as well as being a Greater Animagus, as Voldemort is."

"Voldemort's an Animagus?"

"Actually, Harry, he's a Greater Animagus, which means he can take on more than one animal form. In his case, he can become both a snake and, well, we are not quite sure what his other form is. We do know he has more than one form as one of our spies has reported, but he was never able to tell us what." Dumbledore's face grew weary and Harry let it drop.

"But he is able to change into multiple forms, and so Professor McGonagall suggested it likely that you could as well. Therefore, we will begin your training by working towards two distinct forms, then we will see if we can combine them into a third. It is likely that you will need to learn this before this war is over. And that is the other thing I needed to speak to you about, Harry."

"Yes?" he responded concertedly. The look in Dumbledore's eyes told much, but he needed to hear the words.

"We are at war. You will hear about it no doubt before the day is over, as it was printed in the Daily _Prophet_ last night."

"Oh great," Harry said sarcastically. "It probably says that I'm to blame for what happened yesterday. That I'm trying to become popular by pretending to rescue people or something stupid like that."

"Actually, if you'll look in the bag at the door there I think you'll find a large number of letters from parents thanking you for your help yesterday. It seems the Ministry of Magic has put some pressure on the _Prophet_ to report the news without bias, and as such, the events from the attack at King's Cross are quite accurate. That's how I can guess what is in most of those letters, as I seemed to have received one or two myself," Dumbledore said with a smile, nodding at a pile of letters spread over one of his other desks.

"My concern, though, is that many of the students may have adverse reactions to this news. Some of them may become anxious to get revenge and start looking for ways to take revenge on the Death Eaters for what happened, and that is not good. Neither is it any good for them to want to run away from the problem or pretend that we are not in for the fight of our lives. What I need you to do, as much as you can, is to let the students in your class know that the danger is real, but so is their ability to defend themselves. There is a medium between the two, and I need you to show it to them. Do that, Harry, and we will be well on our way to victory before things get too far out of hand."

"I understand sir, but why do you want me to tell them this. Wouldn't it be better if you said it yourself? We all know that you're the only one Voldemort has ever been afraid of, and you're the most powerful wizard in the world."

"Well, Harry, I don't know about all that, but I do know this. If I tell them not to worry, they will know they are safe here at Hogwarts because I am here. However, if you tell them, and then you show them how to help themselves, they will feel much stronger about their own abilities. Additionally, as a student, you can give them a perspective on the dangers out there that I cannot. However, many of them see you as an equal, or somewhat close to one. That makes what you have to say all the more real, not to mention the fact that you have faced Voldemort four times in the past five years and lived to tell the tale. That is no small feat for anyone including myself, but to hear it from a fellow student will be all they will need to hear."

"I think I understand sir."

"Very good. One last thing before the rest of the staff arrives. I was planning to drop by from time to time to view your progress, but I was hoping you and I might be able to arrange a regular meeting once a month. I expect there will be times when you will have questions for me, and this will give you an opportunity to ask without concern. In addition, once the Art of Duelling classes have taken shape, I'd like to go over some spells and tactics from time to time, both to keep you on your toes and to prepare you for what is to come. I'm sure you have heard the rumours that Voldemort fears me above all other wizards. Do you know why?"

"Because you're the most powerful wizard alive," Harry said plainly, as though it were a silly question.

"That is quite an overstatement. You may find this hard and upsetting to hear, but Voldemort is and will likely remain a more powerful wizard than myself, for the Dark Arts contain magics too powerful for any good wizard to use. You, however, are already more powerful than Voldemort or I will ever be. The only differences between you and the both of us are experience and confidence, and both will come with time. And the time will come during our meetings when you may see what many of us already know."

"I don't know about that. Even when I faced the Death Eaters yesterday most of what I did was use basic spells, except for that transfiguration. Even my getting through the barrier. That wasn't me, that was Dobby. I just happened to have a way to get in touch with him is all."

"But that is not the measure of power in magic. It's not the spell you use, but how you use it. Once you know you can, you don't fail. Did you know only five of the professors at this school are capable of producing a fully corporal Patronus? And with your power you can probably make one solid enough to ride if you really needed to."

"Is that possible? The only time I've ever come close to touching my Patronus it disappeared before I had the chance, but every time I've seen one it never seems to touch anything but a Dementor."

"Normally it's not, though some have done it. However, as I have mentioned before, you are special, and I am sure that with time you will be able, when needed. However, I will not convince you with my words today, and I believe it's just about time for the rest of the staff to show up."

At that moment there was a knock at the door and soon half the staff was walking into Dumbledore's office.

"Right. I guess I'll be going then. When will you be wanting me to come by again?"

"Well, I had been thinking the first Sunday of each month. However, I would ask that you wait until the end of the staff meeting before leaving, as is customary," Dumbledore said in a mock-hurt tone.

"Why?" Harry asked dumbly.

"Are you not now a current member of the Hogwarts staff?" Dumbledore replied in kind.

Harry sat there dumbfounded and it was not until they were a good ten minutes into the staff meeting that he began to catch up to everything that was going on. no-one

The rest of the weekend went by so swiftly that time seemed to Harry as though it were a movie on fast forward, and he remembered very little. no-one

One of the few things that did stand out in his thoughts was the look on Hagrid's face when Charlie unveiled his surprise, or surprises might be more appropriate, as it turned out to be a pair of Half-grown dragons, one of which was Hagrid's very own Norbert.

As the dragons were still quite young they were much more trainable and docile than the dragon Harry had gone up against in the Triwizard Tournament. Some students, the bravest or most carefree, had actually been able to pet them, though most of them had to find a way around Hagrid who seemed on the verge of crying as he petted his old pet dragon.

Another dragon Harry recognized was an old friend of his, a very large Hungarian Horntail. Harry soon discovered that this was not the same dragon he had encountered during the Triwizard Tournament, but that did not put his mind at ease. He instinctively felt his arm where the previous dragon had cut him, though not very deep.

He did however go up and pet Norbert who was now about five times Harry's size, nearly eight feet tall at his highest point, and that was when he was lying down. Standing, Norbert's head reached out to just over the third floor windows of the castle. But as big as Norbert was, he was still Hagrid's little Norbert and seemed to remember all three of them, and Norbert for his part seemed quite happy to see all of them, especially Hagrid.

Several times that day Hagrid's old friend would nudge Hagrid's beard with his snout, and in doing so would time and again set Hagrid's beard ablaze. Harry, Ron, and even Hermione had spent half the day laughing their hearts out.

Another thing that stuck out in his memory was the incredible response from the students. Though the Slytherins seemed to hate Harry more than ever, they also seemed more cautious around him, and the rest of the students seemed to hold him as a local hero. Many of the students would come up to him in the halls and say, "Knew you were telling the truth about You-Know-Who, Harry," or else apologising for their mistrusting him saying, "Sorry bout that, Harry, but you can bet I'll never doubt you again, that's for sure."

Either way, it seemed quite nice to Harry just to have things back to a time where students weren't ridiculing him and teachers weren't punishing him because of who he was. For now, it seemed, life was finally beginning to fall into a pleasant level of normalcy.

Friday night when the three of them went back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry was welcomed with open arms and was treated to a welcome home party, which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning.

When he was finally able to pull himself away to his room his roommates spent another half hour grilling him with questions about the new classes and the attack at King's Cross until finally Ron had to threaten to jinx them if they didn't leave him alone.

Saturday and Sunday were much the same and Harry enjoyed his time as much as possible, though Monday morning seemed to loom like a dark tower that threatened to engulf his happy days.

But as is always the case, time waits for no-one, and on Sunday night as Harry lay in bed he though about tomorrow, and his first days back in class. Since he didn't have as many classes as everyone else he wasn't as worried about his schoolwork so much as he worried about his time with Snape. In one week's time he would be in front of a class averaging more than fifty students, each listening intently to every word he spoke, and Harry sighed.

But then he thought of the inspiration for his class, the DA. He thought back to the incredible progress made by all of his friends as they learned the basics of duelling, disarming each other and even beginning to produce Patronuses, and he smiled. The next few weeks would be the longest of his life, but as his head lay on his pillow and his eyelids began to fall he knew that he was looking forward to each and every minute of it.

Coming Soon

Chapter 12

Back in the Saddle


	12. Chapter 12 Back in the Saddle

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 12

Back in the Saddle

Harry lay stiffly on his back, suddenly aware of how cold it had become. He turned over, searching for a more comfortable position only to find that his bed had become quite stiff.

He rolled over a few more times, trying to find that perfect balance of comfort, when his elbow bumped into a very hard and unforgiving bed. His eyes shot open with the pain.

Rubbing his elbow, he looked around and once again found himself back in the same cavernous room. A mild light emanated from torches placed at the four corners of the room, gliding softly off the walls. Harry got to his feet and looked around.

The four altars were still there, Slytherin's and Gryffindor's to the left, Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's to the right. But he had already seen the altars the last time, so they held his interest for only a moment. Something, however, seemed to draw his attention to look around the entire room, and for the first time he noticed five stone doors.

The doors were spread evenly about five feet apart from each other. Each of the outer doors were marked with emblems matching their respective couples, again with Slytherin and Gryffindor on the right, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff on the left.

Though he was truly curious as to what might be held behind those two doors, and indeed all the doors, it was the door in the middle that drew him forward, each step drawing him up with anticipation. With each drawn breath he continued to look with awe at the middle door, coming closer and closer, until he put out his hand, found a firm grip on the handle, and turned it over.

In front of Harry the door opened into a long hallway, much like the secret passage which led from the one-eyed witch to the trap door under Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. But unlike that particular hallway, this one was well lit, and Harry could see the source in several lit torches running along the chamber. Yet those lights paled when compared to the blinding bright light which caught his eyes at the end of the tunnel, seemingly calling out to him.

He went to take his first steps up the hallway, towards the light, when it seemed that the light itself was coming straight towards him, falling over his eyes and blinding him until finally he doubled over from the burning in his eyes.

When the pain subsided a bit he re-opened his eyes and found himself bent over in bed.

Monday morning had come at last and the sun had beckoned Harry awake, as it seemed to have done to the entire room. Everyone else had already gotten dressed and was getting ready to go down for breakfast.

He looked over to the next bed for Ron, trying to figure out why he had not woken him, but then he remembered that Ron was a Prefect and had probably been up for over an hour dealing with the first years.

Harry quickly cleaned himself up and put on his school robes. As he was now a Professor as well as a student, he had two different styles of robes, one marking him as a student, the other as a professor. He would be wearing the latter for the first time in just one-week's time.

He made it downstairs just in time to find Ron and Hermione coming up to find him.

"Alright Harry?" asked Ron.

"Alright Ron," Harry replied with a smile. "Just had another dream about that cavern."

"You did?" asked Ron, while at the same time Hermione asked, "Did you see anything new?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied softly. He didn't really feel like talking about it this early in the morning.

"Well then, out with it. We haven't got all day."

Harry signed deeply. "Can't this wait until later? I just woke up and we've got a full schedule of classes ahead of us."

"Harry," Hermione jumped in with her normal drone, "Of course we can wait. It's just that we thought it would be better if you told us now, before you forgot anything."  
There was no getting out of it. He knew if he didn't tell them now they would hound him for the rest of the day.

"Well, there was one thing that I noticed that was different than the last time. Two actually. First, I didn't start out by playing around with the founders or anything. I just woke up right in that room. Second, I found out that there's at least four other rooms down there, not just the one."

"Why do you say down? Did you find out where it is?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"I'm getting to that part. See, I couldn't find out what was in the other four room because I was already being drawn to the middle door. I opened it and found myself in this long tunnel, leading upwards. It was lined with torches down the sides, and at the end was a bright light. That had to be at least a couple hundred meters away, and it was at least thirty or forty meters up, if not more. But the next thing I knew, as I was looking towards the end, I was blinded by the light. When I opened my eyes again, it was morning and I was back in the dorm room."

"That sounds like the entrance to me," said Hermione. Ron looked at her questioningly.

"That's what I thought," Harry agreed.

"Well, if it's underground, then that probably means it's somewhere in the dungeons. Harry, do you have your map with you?"

"It's still up in the chest in my room. I haven't had a chance to get it yet."

"I'll get it," Ron volunteered, and ran back up the stairs.

"You know, I have a feeling we're not going to see it on the map," Harry said when Ron disappeared up the staircase. "In fact, I don't know why, but I don't think it's even under the castle at all. If it's anywhere on the grounds, I'd bet it's probably out by the lake, or out in the Forbidden Forest, or something like that."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling like it's nowhere near the castle. Does that make sense?"

"I guess. But unless you have another dream all we can do is more research. But I'm worried that all of this might just be another trick of Voldemort's. Have you talked to Dumbledore about it?"

"No, I haven't, but now that you mention it, I probably should talk to him about it the next time I see him."

"You might not want to wait, Harry. I think you should ask him at breakfast."

"Hermione, he said that I should wear it, and that there were things about it that I didn't know about it. I'll bet he already knows about my dreams. Besides, maybe that's all they are. Just dreams. You know, like a way for the medallion to protect me when someone else is trying to use Legilimency against me."

"Maybe. Still, I think…"

But to Harry's great relief, Ron came back downstairs and opened up the map. They searched it for a few moments, but as Harry suspected, it was nowhere to be found.

"So that means it's not even at Hogwarts," Ron grumbled.

"Or maybe it just hasn't been found yet," Hermione said optimistically. "Remember, this map only shows the paths that Lupin, sirius and your dad had discovered. So if they never found it, it wouldn't be here, now would it?"

"Blimey Harry. How can we find the bloomin' place when it's not even on the map?"

"Do you remember anything else?" Hermione butted in. "Maybe you saw something else that can help us."

Harry thought back to his dream, closing his eyes and concentrating. He got a clear picture in his head and tried to remember what else he had seen.

"Well, there were the two outer doors, the one at each end of the room, and they each had a pair of house crests on them. Let's see. I think it was Slytherin and Gryffindor on the one on the right and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw on the other side. I don't really remember anything about the other two doors, but I didn't get a really good look at them. But there was something else."

After a long pause, Hermione finally prompted him for more

"Well, it may have just been by chance, but there was one thing that seemed a bit odd. I remember feeling an almost timeless air about the place, like it had just been used. I know this sounds weird, but it was almost as though I was there with the founders and all. I didn't see them there this time, of course, but it felt almost like they had just been there and left just before I got up. I don't know. Maybe it was just a dream."

"Harry, you know darn well that this wasn't just another dream. Whatever it is, that medallion is trying to tell you something."

"I'm not quite sure about that, but just to be safe I think we need to start looking into this and the other three medallions. I'll tell ya what. I'm not likely to have much time over this week or next, but what say we start looking whenever we get a chance, and then in two weeks we should be set in our schedules and can find time when we can all meet up and go to the library."

"Right," chimed Ron and Hermione together.

"You know," Hermione added, placing one of her hands against Harry's cheek, "you're really starting to get an air of leadership about you. I noticed it a bit last year, but it's starting to come off a lot stronger since June. You know, it's a really attractive quality," she added with a blush.

"Uh, thanks, I think," Harry replied awkwardly.

And with that they headed down in silence to the Great Hall for breakfast.

However, Harry was unable to make it all the way through the castle and down to the Great Hall without incident.

Indeed, he was stopped by no less than twenty different students, each congratulating him on his new position at Hogwarts. Then, just as he finally reached the entrance to the Great Hall, there she was.

Cho Chang had changed quite a bit over the summer. She had grown another inch or two, and it seemed her face wore a bit more makeup than last year, though hardly noticeable, as there was something else that took Harry completely by surprise. It was her hair.

The last time he had seen her she'd had long, flowing black hair. Now a dark blue with gold highlights, her hair had been twisted, folded, and fluffed in all the right places. Her face, no longer obscured by her hair and perfectly made up, would surely brighten up any room she walked into.

Looking at her now, so radiantly beautiful, he couldn't for the life of him figure out how he couldn't have noticed her before now. And were that all not enough, a moment later as she said hello Harry found that one more thing about her had changed.

"Hello Harry," she greeted in a softer and, in Harry's opinion, much sexier voice than he'd been accustomed to. At the sound of her voice the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle with excitement.

"Hello Cho," he replied in a soft breathy voice. Then with a little more dignity he added, "Have a good summer? I was glad to see you at the party last month."

"Yes, I had a great holiday, really, and I was happy to come. I couldn't stand the idea of you being alone on your birthday like that. Was that sirius's house we were at?"

"Yes, it…" Harry stopped abruptly. Had she just mentioned sirius's name? How would she know about that? Aloud he repeated, "Sorry, but how do you know about sirius?"

"Well it's been in the _Prophet_ all weekend. About how you, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and those others had all gone to the Department of Mysteries. They said how you lost sirius, and how he was innocent of all those charges against him. Personally, I was kinda annoyed at first that you hadn't asked me to come too."

"They what?" Harry shouted, astonished, not even hearing her last statement of grief.

"Sorry, I thought you knew. They've been going on ever since they caught sight of that Pettigrew fellow over in Diagon Alley."

"They what? Did they catch him?" he asked earnestly.

"Unfortunately, no. But some young student from Gryffindor was taking all sorts of pictures, getting shots of all the Aurors walking all over Diagon Alley. So he was taking a shot of Knockturn Alley when who should be coming out of a shop but Mr. Pettigrew. They've got some Aurors searching for him, but they're so short handed that they can't spare many, and they said if they don't catch him by the end of the week they will have to recall them. I guess they need the Aurors elsewhere."

"Good Lord." Harry was about to ask Hermione if she knew about this, but it seemed that both her and Ron had already gone into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Well, I guess we should be getting in to eat before classes, but I'd like to talk a bit more, if we could meet up later."

"Sure. I'll be with Michael after classes, but we can meet out front after dinner, if you like." Harry assumed that Michael would be Michael Connelly, a Hufflepuff seventh-year. Harry only knew him in passing, but he'd never done Harry wrong, so he couldn't have been too bad.

"Great. Well, off we go then. Ladies first," he said drawing his hand out before her.

Harry had known that Cho had a new boyfriend and he truly had lost all interest in pursuing her, with exception to a minute ago. Still, there were no jealous feelings and he felt truly happy for her. In fact, he was beginning to think that she might just become a good friend now that the tension of the past two years had ebbed away.

He was, however, beginning to feel quite alone. True he had Ron and Hermione to spend time with, but he knew that they would soon figure out what everyone else in the school already knew, and that would leave him quite alone.

He continued to think about this even as he sat down to breakfast, and it took a couple of attempts before Ron and Hermione were able to get his attention.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"I was asking you what happened between you and Cho," said Hermione. "Do I smell a re-budding romance there?"

"Oh, no. We were just talking about the _Prophet_. Seems everyone is about to learn more about my private life."

"Why? What did it say? I haven't gotten my copy just yet."

As if on cue, a large group of owls began to fly into the Great Hall from all directions and had begun to drop some letters and packages off to their respective masters. Hermione got her copy of the _Daily Prophet_, Ginny a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reminding her once again that this was her O.W.L. year, and to Harry's great surprise, a letter to him dropped in his lap from Dumbledore.

Last year Harry had seen Dumbledore no more than five times. Now, here he was on the first day of classes and he'd already spent at least twice that amount of time with him. And now Dumbledore was asking him to meet him outside the Great Hall after breakfast so he could then take Harry to see his new classroom.

The next half-hour flew by in a matter of seconds. Ron and Hermione were talking to Harry about the article in the _Prophet_, followed by Harry telling them about his ideas of what Dumbledore would want. Ron and Hermione suggested Dumbledore might want to talk about the Animagus form he might be taking.

"Actually, we already went over that," Harry replied with a sigh. "He told me why he thought I could take on one of the Animagus forms in that book he gave me. He said it has something to do with the whole scar thing and Voldemort's connection with me, though to tell the truth, I didn't hear much he said after he compared me to Merlin."

"Dumbledore compared you to Merlin?" Hermione asked in complete shock. "What the… how's that?"

"Well, he said that when he was researching some stuff on my scar he found a book that covered the same kind of thing happening to Merlin when he was four."

He recapped what Dumbledore had told him and they were both listening in very intently.

"Wow, Harry. That's really big news. If he started out just like you, then, I wonder if the same… Oh my…" and once again, she was up and out of the Great Hall before Ron and Harry knew what had happened.

"You know, I'm starting to think she goes more bonkers the older she gets."

"You've got that right. But it really wouldn't be Hogwarts if she didn't spend more time in the library than her own dorm room."

"Too right. Bloody bookworm, she is."

As it turned out Hermione seemed to know exactly what she needed in the library because she was jogging back up the hall when Harry and Ron were leaving breakfast.

"I found it just where I left it last year," she exclaimed lifting up a rather small book from her side.

"That's got to be the smallest book I've ever seen you pick up, Hermione," said Ron.

"Oh Ron. When are you going to learn that size doesn't matter? This book contains more information on the greatest wizards of legend than any other book at Hogwarts. It's just all written really small. Anyway, I glanced at it real quick and it has the whole history of Merlin, and there's something you need to know."

"What now? Am I going to grow old real quick and end up with a full grown beard before my twenty-first birthday?"

"Harry, this is serious. Listen. You know that most wizards and witches hit their main magical growth spurt around their eleventh or twelfth birthdays, right?"

"That much I know."

"Well Merlin, though he had gone through a growth spurt when he was eleven, had another more powerful growth spurt directly on his seventeenth birthday. You see, most wizards think that he had learned all that his master could teach him by the time he had turned seventeen, which was probably true, but that's not the whole story. Because of that second power growth, his power had exceeded his master's. Now in those days, power was all you needed to prove your worth. So, more scared than anything else, his master sent him on his way. That's how come you don't hear much about him until he was older, because he was going everywhere he could, trying to learn how to control his power. And Harry, he believed this was because of what happened when he was a kid. If that's true, then you're going to have the same kind of growth spurt next year."

"Well that's good, isn't it? That means that I'll be all that more prepared when I have to face Voldemort."

"But what if Voldemort already knows this? That could be why he wants to wage war now. He's tried to kill you every other way; this might be his last resort. What I'm saying, Harry, is that you need to watch out now more than ever, because if he does know, he'll come after you before your next birthday. And if not, well then you still have the other problem of having to train with so much power. It took Merlin nearly fifty years to train himself right and I doubt you have the same amount of leisure time before you and Voldemort have that famous final battle."

"Yeah, well Merlin didn't have Dumbledore, but I do. I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either. All we can do is go to class and learn as much as possible. And speaking of which, here comes Professor Dumbledore now. I'll see you guys at eleven for Conjuration," he said, waving them off.

They headed off to classes, passing Professor Dumbledore as he approached Harry.

"Good morning Professor," he said with a smile as Dumbledore approached.

"Good morning Harry. I see you received my letter," he added with a smile, nodding at the letter still in Harry's hand. "Wonderful. Then I believe it's time for you to take your first look at the room which you will be using over the next year."

Harry smiled broadly, and they headed to the staircases.

As they took the first flight of stairs, with the subject still fresh in his mind, Harry decided to make the leap and ask Dumbledore about the medallion.

"Well, Harry, I do not know everything about this medallion of yours, but there are a few things that I may be able to confirm for you."

"Okay," Harry said in anticipation.

"For starters, there are a few things as Hogwarts Headmaster that I cannot tell you regarding the medallion. Now I know that I told you I would not keep any information from you if I could in any way avoid it, but this is not for me to decide. But maybe it would be better if I gave you an idea of where that medallion came from."

Harry hadn't noticed it, but they had settled on the fifth floor and Dumbledore had begun to lead him down the hall towards the rear of the castle.

"Originally there were four medallions, The Four Medallions to be more specific. These were created by the Four Founders of Hogwarts. You see, when they first settled here to create a place of learning for wizards, all the land that you know here was vastly different. For instance, did you know that the founders had been the ones to create the Forbidden Forest?"

"They created it?"

"Well, in a way. When the founders chose this place to hold their castle it was nothing more than a grassy field, a lake, and a very quiet forest filled with less than half a dozen magical creatures throughout the land. Well, in order to invest the time required to build the castle, they needed to find a small place where they could live until the castle was finished."

"Hagrid's," Harry proclaimed.

"Indeed no. Hagrid's hut has been on this land for less than a century. I personally conjured it for him when I took on the position as Headmaster. He has never been the sort feel comfortable surrounded by so many walls. Hagrid is a free spirit, and living so close to the forest gives him a feeling of comfort that could never be gained inside the castle.

No, the place the founders built has long been hidden from the world. None who have sought it have ever found it, and I truly doubt than any wizard happened upon it by accident. No, this house they created they used for a short time while they build the castle, and then for a long time it had been abandoned."

Harry found himself going farther and farther into the castle, passing statues and portraits he'd never seen before, twisting and turning around this corner and that, all the while listening intently to every word Dumbledore said.

"So the castle was complete and Hogwarts became a school of learning. And just before the start of the first term of school, each of the Hogwarts Founders had created a personalised seal of their own design. These seals were made in the form of four medallions which the founders wore proudly about their necks."

"Now, no-one is quite sure when it happened, but sooner or later there was an accident involving a student, and more specifically a Muggle born student, and thus began Salazar Slytherin's distaste for anyone not born of a wizarding family. Some time soon afterwards, Salazar left Hogwarts leaving the remaining three to run the school. And although they did not agree with Salazar's reasoning to purge the school of Muggle-born witches and wizards, they had agreed that some of their magical possessions they kept were too great in power to keep in the castle."

Harry couldn't see where this was going, but he was not about to interrupt.

"And so," Dumbledore continued, "during the first summer holiday, each of the remaining three founders took their most valuable and powerful magic items and placed them inside of their original home. Then, when all they wanted to hide was gone from the castle, they cast several very powerful concealment charms and locked away their old home. They continued to live in the castle and rarely visited their old possessions, and never during the school year. It is also rumoured that they had set a lock upon their old home so powerful that none alone could open it. Only with their combined power could they ever return to their most precious belongings."

Harry had a flashback to his first dream of the cavern. Sitting on the altar of Gryffindor was the Sorting Hat and Gryffindor's sword.

"You know how to get in there, don't you?" Harry proclaimed.

"Indeed I do. Unfortunately, as Headmaster of this school I am bound to protect many of its secrets, and that is one such secret. I can tell you, however, that even if I were to tell you how to get there, it is a path of which you could not take less you were Headmaster of Hogwarts, and even then you would not know where you were. There are many secrets that lie there which cannot be removed, or even discussed without prior knowledge, of which many times the only way to know is to be there. It is all quite annoying, but while the restrictions remain, so must my silence."

"So if there's anything about the medallions in there then you couldn't tell me, even if you wanted to?" Harry asked, clearly disheartened.

"Not so. While many secrets can never be revealed, still more secrets are held within which, while likewise protected from removal, contain information which may be spoken of openly. This is how I learned of the similarities between you and Merlin. It is very discouraging to know that I may only visit it for a few hours a day, and only during the summer holidays.

"In addition, you bear one of the three medallions. Anything pertaining to the medallions may be recited to any of those who bear them. Alas, there is not much more that I know beyond what I have told already told you, apart from a brief description of the abilities each of the medallions will imbue upon it's wearer. Yours, in particular, belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. While she was a great witch, less known about her is that she was a fantastic talent in Occlumency and Legilimency, and was also a very powerful soothsayer, or fortune-teller."

"So, does that mean that these dreams I've been having, they're visions of the future?"

"Not necessarily. As I'm sure you learned in Divination, reading the signs of the past and future, even within visions, is often clouded. Sometimes visions can be clear straight away, other times it may take years to fully understand the full meaning of just one vision."

"Oh. But why then did I see the Sorting Hat and the Gryffindor Sword lying on the altar in that cavern? And how were you able to take them out when they are restricted from being removed."

Dumbledore had a confused look on his face. "When you saw the sorting hat on this altar, did it look as old as it does now?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Now that you mention it, it looked practically brand new."

"Interesting. Perhaps you should tell me of your dreams from the beginning."

Harry told Dumbledore all he could remember of his dreams. When he was finished Dumbledore seemed to have come to a conclusion.

"How very odd," he said in an amused voice. "Well, whatever it is that the medallion is trying to tell you, it seems evident that it is not about the same place I have been telling you about. The room in which those items are kept resembles a fine office, quite similar in fact to my own office. For now I know for sure is that the medallion you wear _did _belong to Rowena Ravenclaw and that so long as you wear it you will be protected from Voldemort's attempts to invade your mind. As for the dreams, I see no harm, though I would suggest keeping a journal of your dreams and studying them in your spare time. With enough studying you may even find the answers regarding this cavern you were referring to. Until then I can only wish you good luck in finding those answers in good time, and ask that you might find time to confide in me whatever you might discover. I never tire of learning more about this wondrous school."

"Of course sir, though if you can find your way all the way back here, I can't imagine there would be a single thing about Hogwarts you don't already know," he said with a sly grin.

"Now you're just flattering an old man," he replied with a smirk.

It was then, speaking of coming all the way back here, that caused Harry to take pause, and as he did he noticed that not only had they stopped walking, but they had come to rest in front of a large wooden double-door. Above this door was a brilliant silver sign curving around the archway, _The Art Of Duelling _printed in gold. Harry couldn't help but smile himself. Last year he had to hide the very existence of the D.A. and this year it was printed right there on the door for the world to see, or at least anyone in the furthest reaches of the school.

"It looks great," he said, welling up with pride.

"I'm sure you are curious why I have chosen for you a classroom so far into the castle."

The thought hadn't actually occurred to Harry until Dumbledore mentioned it, but since he was volunteering the information, Harry simply nodded and waited for the answer.

"The reason is a pair of secret pathways which exist within this room that lead from both the Gryffindor Tower and Professor Snape's office to a pair of portraits inside the classroom, as well as a portrait just to the side of the entrance steps of the castle. I thought it might be helpful for the both of you for getting to your next classes in a timely fashion," he said with a broad smile. "We wouldn't want you to be late for your Conjuration or Apparation classes."

"Heaven forbid," Harry said with a sly smirk.

With an inviting wave of his hand, the door opened, and he asked with a smile, "Well, are you going inside, or shall you be doing your classes here in the hall?"

Harry took the cue and headed inside. He made it two steps before coming to a sudden halt. For a moment he thought he might be seeing things, but after a few moments he was sure of what he was looking at. The problem was, this couldn't be that room. It was two who floors up...

"Is this the Room of Requirement?" he finally asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course not. We may move where we hold our classes from year to year, but the rooms themselves do not move, only the staircases. However, since you were already familiar with the way that room was set up, I thought it best to design this room in the same image, with a few exceptions of course. For instance, that door over there leads to your very own office, and the one on the other side there leads to Professor Snape's. That portrait just to the right of his office is where his passageway is, and yours is in on the other side of your office, behind the picture of the old suit of armour. It will lead you directly up to the portrait of Madam Sovourn just outside Gryffindor Tower. And before you ask, your map only shows those passages which Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs discovered in their days at Hogwarts. This one must have escaped them, and I can promise you there are still several others not included on the map as well, though you may add this one if you so wish." He winked at these final words.

Harry, in the meantime, was awe-struck with just how much this room resembled the Room of Requirement. If he didn't know better he'd have sworn that Dumbledore had been in his class, it was that perfect. The only two things he could make out that were different were the size, this one a bit bigger than the Room of Requirement, and the addition of the two doors which led to two separate offices at either side of the room. But the books; the pillows; the shelves with the Sneakoskopes; the Foe-Glass; they were all there right where he had left them last year.

Spellbound, it took Harry several minutes to take it all in.

"So, will this suit your needs?" Dumbledore finally asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied with a deep sigh. "It's perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"There are a few things you might want to take a look at, when you have the time. For instance, we have installed a series of platforms, five in fact, which will rise from the floor on command, like so. _Pulpitum Exsisto._" At these last words the floor began to shake for a moment before, right in the middle of the room, a long and narrow stone platform began to rise, coming to a stop around four feet above the floor.

"This will help you with the monthly tournaments. There is a complete list of additions that have been made to the room to accommodate the class, but right now I wanted to go over something a bit more important. I was hoping you and I could use this first week, before the Art of Duelling classes begin, to cover a few things I think might help you along the way, if I may."

"Of course, sir. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Harry, I know that you have handled yourself quite well when needed during some very difficult situations. However, there is always more one can learn, so I thought I might pass on to you a few of the finer points of duelling that you may not have come across. After all, it's not the power I hold that frightens Voldemort, it's what I know."

Harry could swear he saw a twinkle like the northern star as Dumbledore said this and it mesmerised him.

"If you're ready, I have a few gentle suggestions we might go over before Professor Snape arrives. I understand that he had planned on using his first period to work on his potions classes before next week. I thought you and I could use the time to expound on your duelling skills and, if you like, we can continue these exercises on the first Friday of each month."

Harry quickly pulled out his schedule and found, as he half expected, that the first Friday of each month was the one day in which he would not have a Duelling class.

"Well, it looks like I've got it off, so I'd love to."

"Excellent. Well, let's get started then. We'll only have about forty-five minutes today, so lets just see where we stand, shall we? After you," he said waving Harry onto the platform. Harry took three steps up and was just about to go up the final step when he suddenly realised what Dumbledore was proposing. He turned, horror-struck.

"Sir, you're not suggesting that you and I are going to duel?"

"Indeed I am. The best way for me to truly appreciate your duelling technique is to see it first hand. And I wouldn't worry about hurting me. I'm much more stout than I look. Go ahead," he nodded.

The walk to the Ministry court when he was fifteen; the walk to Dumbledore when his name had been pulled from the Goblet of Fire; the walk to the Sorting Hat when he first arrived at Hogwarts; none of these compared to the long walk to the centre of the Duelling Platform where he was to face Albus Dumbledore in a Wizard's Duel. Each beat of his heart he was sure would be his last.

It took an eternity to reach the centre circle, yet it was all too soon before he was looking up into those bedazzling eyes and he froze. There was no way he could attack this man and survive. Oddly, Dumbledore smiled affectionately down at him.

"If it will make you feel more at ease, we can take the first few turns with me simply blocking and deflecting your attacks. I will still learn a great deal from your offence and you won't have to worry so much about being defeated. And don't pull any punches, Harry. Remember it was I who faced Voldemort in June, and I came out quite unharmed."

Harry didn't know if this made him feel better or worse, but he didn't get much time to think about it. A moment later Dumbledore lifted his wand in salute and turned, and Harry followed in sort.

Ten long steps took merely a second before he turned and faced the man he knew to be the greatest wizard of their age. Legs shaking a mile a second, and with the softest tone he croaked "_Expelliarmus_."

Time seemed to stand still as the spell inched it's way out of his wand and down the duelling platform. Dumbledore, moving only his the wand between his fingers, lifted it and uttered something Harry couldn't hear, but feared all the same. When his own spell finally reached Dumbledore… nothing. Not a fizzle, not a flash of white light, not so much as even a pop to announce the spell had hit anything.

"Very good. On three, another spell if you please," Dumbledore said, this time smiling even more broadly.

And so it went on for fifteen minutes. Each time Harry sent a spell, and later combinations of spells, yet not one of them seemed to have their proper effect, though many did seem to do something. Some exploded like crackers while others would produce flowers or butterflies. By the time they had come to the end none of Harry's spells did anything but amuse his headmaster, and by that time he had continued to find more strength until he was truly relentless with his casting. At the final point, Dumbledore held up his hand.

"Harry?"

"Yes sir?" he replied with a shout.

"I'd like you to pay attention to my response to your next attack very carefully. This will be the first, and I dare say most important lesson I have ever taught about duelling and one lesson I recommend you relay to your students on their first day in class. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Then, attack."

Harry paused for just a moment, decided on a spell, and quickly shot a sleeping spell right at Dumbledore. His response was completely unexpected. He quickly and gingerly hopped right down from the platform watching the spell flying two feet over his head, and well off to the right, where its target had been standing a moment before.

Harry, shocked, hopped down and ran over to his professor.

"Are you alright professor?"

"Just fine, Harry. Now, what did you learn from that last attack."

"Are you sure, sir? I mean, did I do something wrong?"

"You did everything perfectly, Harry. I am simply making a point. So again I ask, what did you just learn from what you just saw?"

"But I don't understand, sir. You jumped down from the platform. That's illegal, isn't it?"

"Within the bounds of a legitimate wizard's duel, yes it is. Indeed, if it were done in a proper duel it would be an automatic win for the one who remained on the platform. Yet there is indeed a very wise lesson to be learned here. Have you figured it out yet?"

Harry though for a few moments. Finally he responded soberly, "I'm sorry sir. I just don't see it. You would have lost the duel by default."

"And if it had been a Death Eater attacking me instead of you? What then would be your response to my taking the same action?"

"But if I had been a Death Eater you'd have been fighting for your life. That's not a duel. That's real… Oh."

"Indeed. I believe we can leave it with that for today. Get a few minutes rest before Professor Snape arrives. I, however, must be on my way. I shall see you here again tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Wonderful. You've done quite well today, Harry. I look forward to tomorrow." And with a farewell smile Dumbledore took his leave, giving Harry some time to himself before Snape arrived.

At first Harry just stood there, mesmerised by all that had happened. Fifteen minutes ago he was actually afraid to cast any spell at Dumbledore yet not more than two minutes ago he was sending any and every legal spell he could think of at his headmaster as they were shrugged off like fleas on a dog.

Flustered by his thoughts, he decided to take a closer look around and before long he found himself standing in front of a door he never thought he'd see, at least not yet. But here it was, the office door of _Deputy Professor Harry Potter_.

Harry opened the door and stepped inside. He wasn't quite sure what he expected, but this was definitely more than that. Harry guessed that Remus had a hand in the decorations because there were several things from the house here. He looked around and saw some pictures and some basic desk items from the drawing room arranged neatly about.

But what he liked seeing most was the set of cabinets going around the room in the same manner as Dumbledore's office. Some of these were filled with volumes of books on Charms, Defensive Theory, and several odd books which looked to be taken straight from the Restricted Section of the library. But what warmed his heart were the shelves which had, spread about, each and every present he had received on his previous birthdays which were not either in his pocket or in his trunk, and many of those were soon to be added.

After a few minutes of looking around he found the letter which referred to many of the odds and ends of the classroom and he headed out to check out a few of the commands.

Many of the commands simply adjusted the floor into different positions. One set of commands would raise or lower the middle platform, another set for the outer four, and yet another would raise two groups of rows, each seven seats wide and nine back, along with two larger desks and a chalkboard up front. He had just issued this command when Professor Snape walked through the door.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," he said sternly.

"Good morning Professor Snape," he replied with the calmest voice possible. It was still a bit unreal to try to have a normal conversation with Snape after all the years of hate that had, and on many levels still did exist. Still, he had to try.

"Have you anything in particular you would like to cover this morning?"

"Well, sir, I thought we might just go over the first few classes for each group, if you wouldn't mind."

"Very well. Shall we begin? If I remember correctly there should be a command on the list to bring our two desks together, face to face. That should provide us with ample space to work together," he said, a hint of malice still echoing in his voice.

Harry looked down the list and, sure enough, four more down was the command to bring them together. After he issued the command the desks simply grew feet and walked together before sitting themselves down in the middle. Harry walked to the desk to his right, which was on the same side of the room as the door to his office, and sat down. It took a few moments to register that there were drawers in this stone desk, but a moment later he opened one up, pulled out some parchment and a quill, and made ready.

The two of them worked for the next forty-five minutes on what they might do over the first week. It was almost immediately decided that they would share the lead role with the students. Harry would head the second years and the sixth and seventh years group for a week while Snape headed the first years and the third through fifth years group. That made a total of four groups on the schedule, so it divided nicely. The following week they would switch, and this would continue throughout the year.

This schedule worked out nicely for Harry because over half of the students he would be working with during his first week would be from the D.A. and the younger students would still be old enough to do more practical lessons than bookwork. This also meant, according to the schedule, that Harry would not head a class until next Tuesday, so he could spend all of Monday watching Snape teach and learn whatever he could, which he didn't think would be much, about the ins and outs of teaching a full class.

The next logical step was to go over the curriculum for the next week. Of course this would take most of the rest of the week, but they were able to devise a semi-complete schedule of lessons for the first week for both the first and second years. The one disadvantage was that the scheduling would not allow them to split the classes into two houses at a time, so they would be working with, during the classes of third through fifth years, over a hundred and twenty students at one time.

And so they continued on, working out the Monday classes for Snape, seeing how he would be running the classes, but Harry was surprised to find Snape taking his advice as much as he gave. From time to time he would actually refer back to Harry's days with the D.A. and ask how he would do this or that.

With five minutes before classes would get out Snape suggested that he put things away, asking him to meet again tomorrow at the same time. Harry, expecting to be here with Dumbledore an hour earlier, nodded in agreement and began to pick up his paperwork when he noticed Snape just dropping everything into the Desk.

"You will find that these draws match up with the ones in our offices, so if you drop your paperwork into the desk here you will find them waiting for you tomorrow in your office."

"Oh, alright then," he said, opening a drawer and dropping his work inside and grabbed the instruction list. "Well, if I'm going to be using this passage, I might as well get familiarised with it."

With that he turned and headed for his office, coming to a stop just to the right of the door and, after comparing the notes with the picture frame, found the right series of knots in the wooden frame. Pressing the top, third, second and finally fourth knots in quick succession the portrait swung open to a small landing with stairs leading both up and down.

Since his first class of the day, The Applications of Conjuration, was on the second floor, he decided that it would be best to try his luck going downstairs. There was no landing on the second floor, but there was one on the third floor which he had already passed. However, he decided to follow the passageway all the way down to its bottom. Here he found another portrait back which, when he opened it, led out to a bright hallway.

He stepped out, letting the portrait close behind him, made another right and headed down the hallway. With each step the hallway got brighter and one side of the wall began to shrink, and after a few moments he realised that he was not in a hall at all, but in the walking space next to the Grand Staircase at the front of the school. He shook his head, utterly perplexed. He and Professor Dumbledore had passed by here just after they had just met in the Great Hall not but twenty feet from this very spot.

With a silly grin on his face, and knowing he only had a few minutes to get to his class, he ran up the grand staircase and headed to his next class.

The Applications of Conjuration, as it turned out, was a cross between Charms and Transfiguration. Basically, it was transfiguring nothing into something, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat so to speak. For once, it seemed, Ron had found his calling in magic.

The first two thirds of class was all writing, just like Transfiguration, but the last fifteen minutes or so they were able to try to conjure a snitch sized ball. Some of the students were able to produce a quick bubble, maybe half its size, and of course Hermione was doing great, having a ball of perfect size after only ten minutes, only to have it pop when she touched it.

But Ron, on the other hand, had not only conjured the same kind of ball as Hermione, but he picked it up and bounced it several times before it popped, and at the last second he produced a ball that passed the test of time, though it seemed to fade from one colour to the next every few minutes. It did, however, gain Gryffindor ten points and Ron was absolutely elated over the fact that he was finally able to do some kind of magic before Harry or Hermione, though he seemed to be trying to rub it in her face more than Harry's.

Still, they all took lunch together and talked about their earlier classes, though more than half the topic was around Harry's morning with Dumbledore and Snape.

"I can't believe you actually tried to jinx Dumbledore. Are you completely off your rocker?"

"He told me to. And besides, it's not like I stood any chance. You should have seen him. All he did was just sit there and block them, but not a single one so much as moved him an inch. By the time we were done, I was throwing everything I could think of, one right after another, and he looked like he could have fallen asleep if not for the occasional wave of the wand. It was bloody annoying, tell you the truth."

"Still, Harry, you actually tried to attack Dumbledore. Can you imagine if even one of those spells had reached him?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think anything I threw at him could have hit him, even if he had been asleep. I'm not sure how, but I think he had some kind of shielding spell that would have stopped anything short of the _Avada Kedavra_."

"Don't say that. Don't even joke about using that spell, Harry. That's a very…"

"Hermione," Ron interrupted, "in case you forgot, Harry's seen that spell used on more than one occasion. He knows what it does and what it's all about. He was just making a point."

"Still. He didn't have to say it."

"Hermione, even if I wanted to do it, which I never do, I would never use it on Professor Dumbledore."

Not wanting to argue, Hermione let it go, and the rest of lunch was uneventful.

After Lunch, they all walked down to Herbology and worked with Fleshroot, a carrot like root of a flesh tone colour. Used in many potions to cure rashes and acne, its biggest purpose, unfortunately, was not for cures, but for a poison, which, if swallowed, would cause the person infected to begin growing roots right through their shoes and boring into the ground.

The antidote, unfortunately, took nearly half a year to work completely and anyone who succumbed to the effects of the poison would have to spend the next six months being trimmed in order to keep themselves from growing out of proportion, which, when the antidote finally worked, had been known to cause serious deformations.

After Herbology was Charms, and though it was nice to see professor Flitwick again, the class itself did not hold Harry's interest for long. He was still thinking about his duel with Dumbledore, and more so about the impending duel he would probably have again tomorrow. He just didn't understand what it meant when Dumbledore was so great a wizard, but it was he, not Dumbledore, who would be the end of Voldemort.

But how could that be if he wasn't able to even scratch the one person Voldemort feared above all others. How could he stand a chance? The truth was he didn't. He knew in his heart that he was never going to defeat Voldemort because he would never do the one thing he knew in his heart he would have to do, kill Voldemort.

This brought him back to the duel he'd likely have tomorrow. If only he could think of something that might throw Dumbledore off. If only he could get just one spell off, if even a hair growing spell, something. He just needed to know that, under the right circumstances, he could do something, anything, to get through. But he didn't have a chance, he concluded, and he dropped his head again.

The rest of the day went by just as quick as Charms, but one thing Harry had begun to notice was that there were several people he had expected to see, maybe even talk to, which so far he hadn't. As it turned out, however, one of them was going to make an appearance just after dinner.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just finished eating and were heading back to the library for some last minute reading when Harry felt a nagging ache in his chest, and as he turned his head around he found the subject of his ache. Draco Malfoy was walking behind them, his two goons in tow, and all three with their wands out, ready to fight.

Harry, however, did not reach for his wand, and when Ron and Hermione went for theirs after he told them what he had seen, he put his hands over theirs and stopped them.

"We've got two Prefects and a Deputy Professor here," he said loudly, sure that Malfoy could hear. "If he tries anything, Slytherin will be doomed for the whole year. It would be at least fifty points for each of them, maybe more. I don't think he'd want that."

They continued down the hall and turned the corner to go up the stairs. As they turned at the midway point of the staircase, Harry looked back and saw Malfoy seething, Crabbe and Goyle with him. He noticed, however, that their wands were back in their cloaks, but the look Malfoy gave Harry would have killed were it possible. Harry just smiled, and as he did he could swear that even Malfoy's hair had flushed with anger.

A few minutes later they arrived at the library, still laughing loudly. They went inside to find the second group Harry had expected to meet by now, only this time it was a very welcome surprise.

Sitting together at a large table was the visiting group from America. No more than five seconds after he had entered the library the American teacher stood up and came around the table towards him.

"Harry Potter. A pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Mr. Jones, but you can call my Dave. Let me introduce you to my class.

Around the table, each of the students stood up and introduced themselves.

"Mike Davidson, Foothill High, San Bernardino, California," said the first boy, standing up straight. Harry got a very military type of feeling from this one, though he also looked like he was the oldest of the group, eighteen or nineteen by his guess.

"Sarah Thomas, Amador High, Pleasanton, California."

"Lou Santino, Marks Academy, Mount Pleasant, New Jersey. Everyone calls me Big Lou."

And so it went on, everyone calling their name and where they were from. It turned out that only three of them were from somewhere other than California and the New York, New Jersey areas. Three of them, in fact, were from the Marks Academy, but Harry hadn't much paid attention to any of them. It was the second from the last person who'd captured his attention and he found it hard to avoid staring. When she finally stood, Harry was grateful to finally get to look without feeling too terribly stupid.

"I'm Amanda Johnson of California High in San Francisco. Nice to finally meet you. I've read a lot about you over the weekend. I'd love too talk with you some time, if you get the chance."

Harry was about to accept when the last kid, soon to be a marked man, stood and introduced himself.

"Hi. I'm David Dodson from Fillmore High in Springfield, Illinois. It's nice to meet ya. I've heard a lot about you, of course, from your cousin Dudley. He says that you were raised by non-magics after your parents were killed and that he looked after you and helped you out until you started developing your magic, and then you came to Hogwarts and started…"

"Davie. Let the man be. You can talk to him later, if he'd like. I'm sorry about that. Some of us are a bit more excited to be here than others. But it really is good to have had the opportunity to meet you, Mr. Potter. Or is it Professor now?"

"Harry, sir. I don't start teaching classes until next week, and even then I'm only a deputy Professor in the classroom. Outside, I'm just plain Harry."

"Well, if half of what we've heard and read is true, I don't think we'll ever be able to think of you as 'just Harry'. But I digress. If it's Harry you want to be called, then Harry it's gonna be. Now then. Do you think, Harry, that you might be willing to give us a bit of real background? We've heard a bit about this guy everyone keeps whispering about, Valdamont. I remember something about him trying to kill you with a single curse when you were a child."

"It's Voldemort, and the _Avada Kedavra_ curse. That's right. I was just a kid, barely a year old when he killed my Mum and Dad."

And so he continued with the story of how he'd become so famous. He was really surprised at how little they knew of what had happened to him over the years. By now Harry had assumed that every wizard and witch on the planet had known about him, but it looked like that was overstating it by quite a bit. Until a month ago most of these American kids had never heard of Voldemort or Harry Potter. It was quite refreshing. He stayed for a couple of hours, spending as much time as possible talking one on one just so he could have a few minutes talking to Amanda.

Amanda, like Harry, was pretty thin, though she did have a few extra curves that caught Harry's attention. Her hair was short and blond, spiked and with dark tips, and adding her soft ocean blue eyes made looking at her body almost unnecessary, but not quite. He knew that he had to stop staring because sooner or later she would think something was wrong with him, but he couldn't ignore that soft but firm face. He'd never met anyone like her, surely not at Hogwarts at any rate.

Several times he was rescued from staring at her for too long by questions from the other students, though more often than not he found himself shortly afterwards more annoyed than grateful.

Seconds later he found himself blowing off questions about Voldemort and the Triwizard tournament for much more important questions, like whether Amanda might prefer the Hogwarts robes over her own school uniform, only to find out there were no uniforms at all at her school.

Finally, at just after nine o'clock their professor suggested that they make their way to their hall, but he asked if they might call on him again some time this weekend. He seemed to think that with Harry's Muggle upbringing that he might be better able to help them integrate into Hogwarts and he feared that with so little familiarity with wands that some of his students might need practice before they joined the third through fifth year class next week in _The Art of Duelling _Class.

He agreed and told the American professor that he would figure out when would be the best time and let him know by dinner the following night.

With that he bid them all farewell, shaking several of their hands and somehow finding a way to say goodnight to Amanda three times before she was gone.

As soon as they were all out of sight Hermione came up to him and nudged him in the ribs.

"She's cute," she said with a giggle.

"Yeah," Harry replied longingly, then recovering, "Wait a tick. Who's cute here?"

Ron, hearing these last words and somehow not liking the way the conversation was headed, popped his head out of a large book and asked too loudly, "Who's cute?"

"Ron!" Hermione chastised, "Shh. It's that American girl, Amanda I think was her name, right Harry?"

"Right. I mean wrong, or… what are you talking about?"

One look at his face and even Ron had caught on to what was happening.

"Oh. Harry's got himself another girlfriend. Was it that brunette girl with the big…"

"The big what, Ron?" Hermione was completely flushed.

"Hair. The one with the really fluffy hair. You know, the one with the red shirt on under her robe."

"How do you know what was under her robe?" Hermione asked, this time truly enraged. Ron didn't get a chance to answer before, "Oh, who cares. I don't want to know. I'm going to my room, in case you happen to notice."

And a moment later it was just Ron and Harry.

"Absolutely, totally and completely bonkers. I swear, she may be the smartest girl in school, but some times she's just doesn't make a lick of sense."

Shaking his head and figuring that if he didn't interfere soon there may not be anything to interfere into, Harry finally threw up his hands and enlightened Ron to the one thing everyone else at Hogwarts seemed to know by now.

"Ron, she likes you. Get it? She likes you and you like her."

"Of course I like her. She's my friend, when she's not acting stupid like now."

"Ron, you really are a git some times. You two are in love, and she's waiting for you to come out and say it. But if you don't do it soon you may not get the chance. We're in our sixth year now and the one of the three of us left that hasn't dated is you, have you noticed that? I have, and I bet Hermione has too. That's probably why she hasn't tried dating on a serious level. Didn't you ever stop to wonder why that is, or why she dumped Krum last year? Half of the girls at this school would have killed to be in her shoes and all she wanted was for you to ask her out. But if you don't do it soon, that angry act she has with you might not remain an act. If I were you I'd go up there right now, apologise, and tell her how you feel."

"It must be contagious. Come on. I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"What?"

"Harry, there's no way I like her. Not like that. She's my friend and…" but Harry was putting up his hand.

"Once you admit it, Ron, things will be a lot better. Anyone who knows you and Hermione know that you two are made for each other, but she won't wait forever, and if you keep denying what's going on, when you finally decide on the truth you are going to be too late and you're going to regret it. Trust me, I know. Remember Cho? Just think if I had asked her out before Cedric. How different would things have been? Heck, for all we know it might have meant the difference between him making it to the end of that maze or not, but we'll never know. Now Hermione's and your lives may not depend on it, but your happiness might. Just think about it, okay?"

"Whatever you say Harry," Ron said, shaking his head. But even then Harry could see the gears in Ron's head moving. Sooner or later he'd realise what he had to do. Harry just hoped it was sooner rather than later.

So Ron and Harry headed up to Gryffindor Tower. They made it just inside before Neville and Ginny began to bombard him with questions about their first Quidditch match. When Harry asked why he was being asked he got another shock, one that would have sent him over the edge had he not been half expecting it.

"Ron," Ginny whined at her brother, "didn't you tell him? We all got together on the train and voted you as captain of the team. Everyone agreed that you were the man for the job. After all, if you can face down a dozen Death Eaters, what's a couple of Bludgers to you?"

Harry shook his head and tried, for the better part of an hour, to humbly decline before finally giving into peer pressure and accepting his new position as Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

"Well," Harry thought, "at least I still have ten minutes a day to myself."

Hermione arrived just as Colin Creevey was coming out to remind Ron and Hermione that this was their night running the halls. This meant that they had to go out and walk around the castle making sure the students were all in their dorms when they were supposed to and not running about.

Harry wished them good luck and headed to bed.

Up in his dorm room he changed, said goodnight to Seamus and Dean who were playing wizards chess, and Neville who was reading yet another book on Herbology.

Laying back on his back in bed, thumbing his Medallion with his left hand, Harry was thinking about his new classroom, his talk with Dumbledore, then Snape, and each of his classes, none of which he could remember. Each time he thought of a class it would bring up the question of homework, and that would lead to why it hadn't been done in the library, and that led to Amanda, and all else disappeared.

- -- -

**COMING SOON**

**CHAPTER 13**

**Dumbledore's**** Five**


	13. Chapter 13 Dumbledore's Five

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 13

Dumbledore's Five

Tuesday morning was bright and crisp, and Harry woke up with a brilliant smile.

He'd had wonderful dreams about flying on the backs of dragons and duelling dozens of Death Eaters. He'd taken them all out and saved Amanda from being kidnapped at least half a dozen times. Each time, he was well rewarded, and even now, as he was sitting up in his bed, a sly grin wormed its way across his face.

After a few minutes, he finally got out of bed, got dressed, and met up with Ron and Hermione just as they were herding a small group of second years into a tight circle. Each was covered in spirals of bright colours. Harry guessed they'd been playing pranks on each other all morning.

"Got a real fun group this morning, huh?" he said in greeting.

"Oh yeah," Ron replied with a smile. "They've been throwing spells back and forth between the Ravenclaws, running all about the castle. Then Malfoy and his cronies decided that they'd get involved, and now the whole bunch of them have gotten themselves colour sprayed from head to toe."

"Morning Harry," Hermione greeted politely. Then with a cynical grin she added, "Say, since you're now an acting Professor, would you like to have the pleasure of supplying them with their punishments?"

"It's tempting, but for now I think it best to keep my role as a Professor limited to my classroom. However, I was passing by the trophy room a few days ago and did notice that the trophies looked like they hadn't been cleaned in over three years." He couldn't help but grin as he looked over at Ron.

"Too right," Ron replied, catching Harry's hint. "If I remember right, a good three days of detention would get them trophies nice and clean, and maybe help some students to be a bit more careful with their use of magic in the halls."

"Not to mention that they used it against other students," added Hermione disapprovingly.

"Right," Ron concluded. "Well, off to Madam Pomfrey with you then."

"And then you'll be meeting the Ravenclaw Prefect tonight at six-thirty sharp. She'll be expecting you," Hermione added as they all headed from the common room.

As soon as the portrait of the Fat Lady closed behind them, Ron burst out laughing.

"Ron," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Hold on," Harry jumped in. "If you two are going to get into another row, let me out of here first."

"Yeah, Hermione. Even you have to appreciate how much fun it looked like they were having before Malfoy showed up."

"That's no excuse to go breaking the rules whenever you want."

"You mean like brewing a Polyjuice Potion or starting an illegal duelling club?" Ron retorted.

Harry shook his head and went down to breakfast on his own.

Unlike the previous day, he was able to make it all the way down without being stopped and was halfway through eating when he saw...

"Hagrid," he called out.

"Well hello there, Professor," Hagrid responded, passing by on his way from the staff table.

"How are classes going?" he asked, standing up to look at Hagrid. He immediately noticed how, in a Hogwarts robe, Hagrid looked a lot more chipper, even blissful, with a much closer shaven beard than before. He looked at least fifteen years younger than Harry had ever seen him before.

"Alright, I guess. I'd love to stay and chat, Harry, but me first class today is Potions, and I don't reckon I want to give Professor Snape any reason to be upset with me. Now that I'm back in classes, he won't be showing me the same type of regard as before. I suppose it's just as fair, though. Still, I better get going if I want to make it on time."

"Right. Well, if you're not too busy, I'd love to come down after classes and hear how your first week is going."

"I'd like that. Being as how I've got a lot to catch up on, I could surely use the help, if you've got time. I know you've got yerself a full plate too."

"Of course, I'll help," Harry offered with a smile. "And I bet Hermione would love to come too. We can all do our homework together."

"Tha'd be nice," Hagrid said, a broad smile pushing itsway from his beard.

And with that, Hagrid headed off for his first class, passing Ron and Hermione as they were entering the Great hall. They were still going at it, and after a few moments Harry excused himself and headed up to his own classroom.

He came out of the portrait a few minutes later and began to set up the room for Dumbledore's arrival. He was just raising the main platform when a squeaky voice came from behind him, and he turned to find Dobby hopping up and down on his table. He looked thoroughly happy with himself.

"Hello Dobby," Harry said warmly.

"Hello, Professor Harry Potter, sir," Dobby replied, still clapping and bouncing around.

"How have you been? I haven't had much of a chance to say hi since I got back."

"That's alright, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is knowing how busy you is, sir. Dobby's a very patient House Elf, he is."

"And a very good one at that," Harry added.

"Harry Potter flatters Dobby, sir. Dobby is only trying to be the best House Elf Dobby can be, sir. I hopes Harry Potter is not too upset with Dobby for bringing his things to Hogwarts without Harry Potter's permission. Professor Dumbledore says Harry Potter would likes his new office more if it had things from his home, he did."

"So that's how they got here. Well Professor Dumbledore was absolutely right, Dobby. I love my new office. You should be quite pleased with yourself."

"Thank you, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is happy to be of service."

"Did I hear someone call my name?" came a voice from behind them. They both turned to find Professor Dumbledore walking in from the hall, all smiles.

"Hello Professor," Harry said in a welcoming tone.

"Good morning, Harry," he replied warmly.

"Oh, good morning, Professor Dumbledore, sir. Dobby is happy to see you up and about again, sir."

Harry's ears perked up, but Dumbledore simply smiled and replied, "I'm feeling quite well, thank you. And how is your re-integration into Hogwarts going?"

"Oh, just fine, Professor Dumbledore, sir. Winky is down to half a bottle of Butterbeer, and she is letting us give her a change of clothes once a week now, sir. We is hoping to have her back to normal by the end of the year, sir."

"That is wonderful news, Dobby. I'm glad to hear it. Now, I do have a little bit of work with Harry here, Dobby, but I am sure he would not mind you coming by later this evening."

"Sure, Dobby. I can come back after dinner. I was planning on coming up for a little work anyway, to prepare for next week."

"Dobby will be here, Harry Potter, sir." And with a quick pop, he was gone.

Harry smiled as he looked back at Dumbledore.

"Well then, shall we get started?" Dumbledore asked, his smile turning over to a more firm and resolved look.

"Yes, sir," he answered with a resolved nod of his own.

"Very well. Today I would like to cover the next two rules of duelling, as they go quite nicely together. The first is to remember that it is not the power of a spell used, but how it's applied to a given situation. Second is to remember also that it is rarely the final spell in a duel which determines the outcome. Instead, it is the spells leading up to the closing stages of the duel which will ultimately dictate the final result. But simply talking about these rules does little without a proper demonstration, so let us try a little exercise. Peeves. Are you here?"

Harry's head whipped around. He started looking all about the room, searching for any sign of Peeves. Out of the upper corner of the ceiling Peeves appeared and swooped down, coming to rest between Harry and Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Professor. And hello to you, wee little Potty Potter," he laughed.

"Peeves," Harry replied in a droll tone.

"I thank you for coming, Peeves. Now, if you are ready, I will explain to Harry what it is we will be doing."

Harry looked back to Dumbledore in a more concerned manner.

"Before we make use of Mr. Peeves here, we are going to try something which you may fight quite odd. As we did yesterday, I would like to spend five minutes duelling. However, though you will be able to use any spells at your disposal, I would ask only that you avoid using spells that you learned before your fourth year. Meanwhile, I will use those spells which you will not, that being the spells taught to you during those first three years. And as you may have learned yesterday, you needn't worry about causing me any harm. Alright?"

Harry nodded sternly. He'd already been through this once. There was no way he was going to hold back this time.

"Very good. Then by all means, let us begin."

Five minutes passed quickly, and not once had Dumbledore lost his wand. When they returned to the middle, Dumbledore seemed quite pleased.

"It seems you have learned your spells quite well, Harry. I can't say I wasn't surprised by a couple of those attacks. However, since you were unable to use any spells from your first three years at school, you were at a major disadvantage, and should not feel upset that you had not disarmed me. I highly doubt there are more than a half dozen wizards in Europe who could have subdued me under those circumstances. However, before we delve too far into that, I would first like to turn the tides. In this next duel, you will be limited to using those spells learned before your forth year, and I shall use spells which I have learned only since passing my O.W.L.s."

Harry's eyes bulged. He was sure that this would include many of the most powerful spells known to wizard kind. If he got hit by even one of those spells, Lord only knew what it would do to him.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, sensing Harry's thoughts. "That is why I have called upon Peeves. As a poltergeist, Peeves can be hit by most spells without suffering any ill effects. In this, Peeves has volunteered his services. When one of my spells hits its mark, Peeves will let us know. He will be hovering a few feet above you and following your movements. Thus, I will be attacking him while you will be attacking me. Ready?"

Harry gulped. He knew he wouldn't be in any real danger, but it was still a bit intimidating. All the same, he gave Dumbledore a stern nod, trying hard not to flinch.

"Very well. Let's go again."

And so they duelled for another five minutes. Dumbledore again dominated the duel, but he was not nearly as flawless as before. Of the sixteen rounds, Dumbledore won eleven. This left only five wins for Harry, but it was a vast improvement when compared to zero.

After the standard salute, they met back again in the centre of the duelling platform.

"Very good, Harry," Dumbledore congratulated. "Now, you had two major advantages over me during that duel which helped you to achieve your victories. Tell me, do you know what they were?"

Harry thought for a few moments. His first thought was that since he himself would not be getting hit by the spells, he had nothing to worry about. But he knew at once that this was the wrong answer. After a few more moments, he finally gave it a shot.

"Well, unlike with the other time, I've had lots of practice casting these spells, so I guess that's probably an advantage. And they're also very easy and quick to cast."

"Right!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically. "You see, I may have learned in my years spells which can level a mountain and dry up the ocean, yet a spell so simple as the _Accio_ spell, when used against my wand, would render me virtually powerless, and once you have some practice at it, the _Accio _spells is quick to say and requires almost no wand movement at all. This demonstrates both how little the power of a spell matters in a duel, as well as showing how the use of a spell can make all the difference. Now, if you add those two lessons with the one from yesterday, you are well on your way to becoming a quite formidable duellist."

"Remember that every fight is different from the next, but if you always bear in mind that what is needed and what is possible are two extremes of the same line, you will never go wrong. After all, you needn't drink a gallon of water to quench your thirst."

Again, Harry simply nodded.

"As it is in most cases of a formal duel, the spell which determines a victory within a duel is not generally the one which actually does the disarming, but the one which grants you the opportunity to disarm."

Harry had a quizzical look on his face. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think I'm lost."

"Not to worry. Most people are confused by the way a wizards duel is won. Let us have a few more rounds, and I think you will better understand what I am talking about. This time we will each use whatever spells may come to mind, agreed?"

Harry nodded and headed to his side of the platform while Dumbledore headed to the other end.

They went on for another ten minutes. Many times Harry lost his wand, and each time he had done so because of a very basic spell, such as the second level spell, _Expelliarmus_. But there were the rare occasions when Harry had beaten Dumbledore to the punch and disarmed him, finding a new truth to Dumbledore's earlier statement of using _Accio_, especially when used against Dumbledore's beard and hat.

"Well done, Harry. I noticed that you remembered to use your spells not only to disarm, but to stop me long enough to do so later."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, then added with a weak smile, "I did my best."

"And quite well it was. And I want you to remember something too, Harry. You are quite an accomplished duellist, and you truly deserve the position of Duelling Professor. I dare say that even now you are a better duellist than some of my fellow Professors. Now, back to our duels. Did you happen to recognize any of the spells I used against you during our first duel?"

Harry's answer was immediate.

"Yes, sir. As you said, they were all taught to us by Professor Quirrell during my first year, and by Remus during my third year. All but that bluish spell which hit me near the end. I haven't seen that one before."

"Actually, I believe you have, though you do not recognize it. You see, many of our more simple spells change as you learn to control them. That spell I just used was the _Dumfoundus_ charm, which I find quite useful from time to time, and though it's a very simple spell to cast, it grows in strength as the wizard casting it uses it more and more. Why, when I was still teaching transfiguration, I once had to use it in order to placate an entire classroom, but I believe that is a story best left to another time. Now, I want you to think back to when you faced those Death Eaters at King's Cross."

"Alright," Harry said softly.

"Now, do you remember using any of the more powerful spells you tried on me today?"

Harry thought back, trying to remember what he had done. Really, he didn't remember much, but he had, with exception of the transfiguring a car into a bear, kept things relatively simple. He told Dumbledore this.

"And the only spell that took time to cast was a spell which was not as time dependant. As you were not face to face with a Death Eater, you had the time you needed to cast the spell. And for the record, Harry, I doubt anyone in this school other than myself, Professor McGonagall, and possibly Professor Flitwick, could have pulled of that mastery of spellwork. It was very well done."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, blushing.

"But you notice that everything else you did you kept simple, and that is how a duel is won. What you did was wait for them to show off, and then you hit them with the quickest spell that would stop them. That is what makes you a great duellist. All you have to do now is begin to become more conscious of what it is that you do during a duel. Now, let's try it again, and try to use everything you have learned over the past two days."

And so they went at it again. They spent the rest of the hour going back and forth with spells, and though Harry did not make as much progress as he would have liked, he was able to catch Dumbledore off guard an average of four out of every ten rounds.

At five to ten, their matches finally came to an end. They met at the middle of the platform and were just stepping down when Professor Snape entered the room.

They all exchanged a few pleasantries before Dumbledore bid them farewell, telling Harry he would be back the next morning to continue practicing.

Snape and Harry continued their work from the previous day, ironing out many of the smaller issues regarding the first few weeks of class.

They spent most of the hour working silently at their desks. Harry worked on the curriculum for the A classes, that being the class which hosted the first and second years.

Snape, meanwhile, was working on the lesson plans for the B classes of third through fifth years.

As the C classes consisted of sixth and seventh years, they planned only exercising practical lessons, so they were going to plan out those lessons on Friday.

There was little conversation between the two, yet together they were able to get a great deal of work accomplished. Just before ten, they quickly discussed their work and made a few last minute amendments to correlate their lesson plans. In the end, they both felt confident enough in their work to begin preparations for practical lessons the following day.

The irony was not lost on Harry as he rushed downstairs and out the door, completely out of breath as he was trying to get to Apparation classes on time. He caught sight of Ron and Hermione at the back of a large group, all huddled together inside of a large sectioned off region of the grounds, just a bit off from the lake. He found the rest of his classmates standing with the Ravenclaw sixth years, though he found himself pleased to see that the class professor was also running a bit late. He came up behind Ron and Hermione, wheezing and struggling to catch his breath.

"Better late then never, eh Harry?" Ron prodded.

"At least... I made it... before..." POP!

Harry looked up, searching for their professor whom had obviously decided to demonstrate their course objective when he heard the familiar voice of Professor Flitwick.

"Glad you could make it, Mr. Potter. Now that we're all here, I'd like to go over a few of the basics of Apparation. First of all, is there anyone here who does not know what Apparation is?"

Harry was sure everyone here was familiar with Apparation, so he found himself a bit shocked to see several hands shoot up from the other side of the group. But when he saw to whom the hands belonged, he understood.

"Oh, jolly good. Everyone, for those of you who have not had the pleasure just yet, these are our guests from the United States."

There was a quick round of introductions, and then Professor Flitwick began to outline their first few weeks of lessons when a few hands from the Americans shot up. When Professor Flitwick responded, they reminded him that he had not yet told them what Apparation was.

"Oh my, my. I did forget that, now didn't I? Well, first, for you American folk, Apparation is the same as what you would call Teleporting."

A great "Ah!" came from the Americans as they suddenly seemed to understand what Professor Flitwick was talking about. Still, for everyone's sake, Professor Flitwick spent the next ten minutes going over the basics of what Apparation was and how it was and was not used.

"For instance, you can Apparate yourself home and back again, but you would not be able to do the same to an object just sitting in your hand. You would have to Apparate yourself with the object in order to put it where you wanted it."

"But if you can go there yourself, why can't you just send the item instead of having to take it yourself?" asked one of the American boys.

"Because when you Apparate," answered Professor Flitwick politely, "as you will soon find out, you consciously direct your travel. If you do not go with whatever you are trying to send, then there is no way to tell it where to end up at. It would be like trying to send your broom home without riding it. You would have no way of steering it where you wanted to go."

There was a consensus of nods throughout the group.

"Now, what I'd like to do with the rest of our class today is to break you all up into groups of four, and I'd like to see one American in each group. Then each groups will move off into one of the marked off fields. There you will each see five-foot lines across the ground. I want you to each concentrate on being at that spot five feet away. You will take two minutes each, then let the next person try. This will give everyone at least three chances to try before the end of the day. Now don't be too upset if you don't do it today. Rarely have I had a class of more than half that have succeeded on the first day. Just try your best. Well, off you go then."

They all broke up into groups of three, then met up with the Americans for their fourth. Harry, Ron, and Hermione got together and headed over to the group, but they were too late. Amanda had already gone with someone else. Instead, to Harry's dismay, they ended up with the Collin Creevey wannabe, while Seamus, Neville, and some Ravenclaw boy had surrounded Amanda and brought her to the furthermost workspaces where they could have her all to their own, while they all seemed to be moving in the exact opposite direction.

They all practiced for the next half hour, each of them able to Apparate, though both Harry and Ron kept missing their mark by half a foot plus or minus. Harry was happy to see, however, that even though they got to spend time with her, Amanda seemed to be more a distraction than anything else. The only one who even Apparated at all was Neville, and that was three feet straight down.

Professor Flitwick had been able to get him out of the ground without any problem, but for the rest of the day Neville kept coughing up balls of dirt.

After class, they all headed back to the castle for lunch. Just as they were walking in, the twins came up from behind them.

"We hear you're going to Defence Against the Dark Arts next," Fred said with a smirk.

"I reckon you might want to brush up on your cleaning spells, though they won't stop the fruity smell," added George.

"What are you going on about?" Hermione snapped back.

"Oh. Well, if you're going to be that way about it, I guess we'll just let you find out on your own," Fred replied, and then they both ran off.

"Fine," she replied, shaking her head.

"You shouldn't have done that, Hermione," Ron said solemnly.

"Get off it, Ron. Do you really think your brother would put us through something we couldn't handle?"

"Well, we are talking about Charlie here. I wouldn't put it past him."

"I don't know. Charlie always seemed pretty level-headed to me," Harry threw in simply.

"Oh yeah. Real level-headed. That's Charlie. That's why he's the one playing around with dragons, and now he's put himself up for the most dangerous job at Hogwarts. Oh yeah. He's real level-headed."

And less than an hour later they found themselves heading up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

They arrived to find the classroom completely void of anything, including the tables and chairs. Standing at the far side of the room was Charlie, all smiles and welcoming them in. As it was, they were the first to arrive, though a few had already begun to file in behind them.

Harry headed up to talk to Charlie, but he held his hand up, winked, and gestured for him to sit on the floor.

A few minutes later the last of the students had filed in, Slytherins staying to one side, Gryffindor's staying to the other.

"Welcome to your sixth year of Defence Against the Dark Arts," Charlie began. "Today I am going to go over something quite serious. So far as I have been able to discern from the notes of your previous Professors, you are all quite a bit behind where you ought to be, though this is of no fault of your own. However, with a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, we may still get you up to N.E.W.T. level by the end of next year. To help expedite this, I have been given permission from Professor Dumbledore to eliminate a great deal of the written work required for this class in order for us to incorporate some of the more vital aspects of this class. And since this class is no longer going to be teaching you how to duel, we may have a real chance of achieving this goal. However, since there are many other facets related to the Dark Arts that have not been incorporated into your education thus far, my first goal in this class is to ensure that you can identify every type of Dark Magic threat one might encounter. Today, for instance, we are going to cover the art of detecting Dark Magic in inanimate objects."

There was a great rumble around the classroom, though there seemed to be a more animated anticipation from the Slytherins.

Charlie waved his wand over to his left and a group of six large tables appeared. On them, laid out in a very organized fashion, was a selection of different items ranging from fruits and plants to boxes and toys.

"Each of these items is commonly found in a Dark Wizard's home. Some of these are quite harmless, while others can be very dangerous. These in particular have been cleansed by some of the greatest wizards that the Ministry has to offer, and rather strongly evaluated by a stern group of goblins from Gringotts. I can assure you that the only charms placed upon them were done so by me. However, I must warn you that I have placed charms on all of those items that were previously found to be enchanted by Dark Magic."

There was another rumble of hushed talk throughout the room.

"This is your first lesson," Charlie continued. "I will ask each of you to come up and look over these items. You may examine them in any way you choose and cast any spells on them or yourself. Then you will take five back with you and sit back down. When all of you have chosen your items, I will then give you five more minutes to disable any charms you find and cleanse them for proper use. Five points will be awarded to any student whom can either find five items which are not charmed, or else disable the charms or protect themselves from the effects the charm may have."

Charlie surveyed the students for a moment and added as his eyes fell on Neville, "And don't worry. I have plenty of replacements for those that are taken so everyone will have an equal opportunity to make their selections. Now, do I have any volunteers?"

Several hands went up, including both Hermione's and Harry's. Noticing that Ron's was not up, Harry bent over and whispered to him.

"What's the matter?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Nothing. I just don't want to be the first one up there is all. It's still a bit weird, having him up there teaching."

"I can see that. But then, are you going to be this way next week in my class?"

"Of course not. But that's different. We've already been there, so it's not going to be much different. But Charlie, that's different. I mean, he was the most famous Gryffindor since Dumbledore before you came around. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"You don't, you blockhead. There's no competition. Besides, he wasn't the one being held on everyone's shoulders last year and begin sung about when you helped beat the Slytherins, now was he?"

"Well, I guess you're right. But I still don't have to like it."

Just then Charlie called Harry up.

He stood and headed for the nearest table.

On the table were about fifteen different items. There was a clock, a small chest, a rolled up rug, a bowl that looked like a Pensieve, a small model of a Victor Krum on a broom, a book, a pair of shoes, and even an old oil lamp.

Harry chose the clock and the model of Krum because he figured they wouldn't have any bad charms on them, the chest because he knew it would, but he had an idea which one it would be. He also took a large watermelon and what looked like a very large Sneakoscope.

He returned to his spot next to Ron, who was then called up to pick his own items. Oddly, he was back in less than a minute, looking quite pleased with himself.

"That was fast," Harry commented.

"I know my brother's work. Compared to the twins, he's an amateur at things like this. The only thing with a charm on it is the strawberries, but he's never done the charm right. It's supposed to launch them straight up out of the basket and onto it's owner's head, but he always messes it up, and they end up going everywhere but on the owner."

"I'll have to remember that when it comes to your turn."

Fifteen minutes later everyone had their items and began to go to work.

Another five minutes later and they were each called up to present their things.

This time Ron got called up before Harry, and for the first three items Ron was dead on.

But on the fourth item, a book of sorts, he opened it expecting nothing, but instead got a wailing that had everyone covering their ears. His strawberries didn't go well either. It seemed Charlie had brushed up on his charms because this time the strawberries flew straight out about five feet, turned around, and began to bomb him from head to toe.

Hermione went up a few minutes later and had gotten hold of four items that had been charmed, but had previously disabled three of the charms and protected herself from the fourth, a spitting kettle, with a basic shield spell.

Harry was called up next and, to his amazement, found he had done everything perfectly. The chest had a charm that caused it to snap shut whenever someone approached it, but Harry disabled it with a freezing charm before it could shut itself. The Sneakoscope went wailing on, and for a moment Harry thought he had missed something, but Charlie came up and stopped it, telling him that it was not cursed and was simply going overboard because of itsbeing inside of the school.

Last but not least was the watermelon. Harry knew what was going to happen here. It was just too easy of a setup not to do, so he simply cast the same shielding spell as Hermione had used and pulled out his wand to open the watermelon with. He had not made it two feet before the entire thing exploded, soaking everyone within fifteen feet, except for Harry, who was quite clean and unaffected.

When everyone was done, Gryffindor ended up with twenty-five points and Slytherins with forty-five.

"It doesn't surprise me they nearly all got it right. Most of them have probably been setting those traps since before they could steal." Ron sneered at the Slytherins.

When the bell rang out a few minutes later, everyone headed out the door, half of them soaked in some kind of fruit or vegetable juice, yet on the other side of the door they found themselves perfectly clean.

"Well that's a nice touch," said Harry on his way down the hall.

"He's just showing off. He used to use the same spell whenever Mum asked him to clean the dishes."

"Well I thought the class was fun," Hermione added defensively. "I just hope he's able to last more than a year."

"You heard what he said, didn't ya?" Ron whined. "He said he had plans for the next two years, so I guess he's planning to stay at least that long, if he can. I'll never hear the end of it from Mum and Dad. One working for Gringotts, the other a Hogwarts teacher."

Ron kept complaining all the way down the hallway, then bid Hermione and Harry goodbye as they headed off towards the dungeons.

As they were entering the final hallway to Advanced Potions, Harry groaned loudly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"We've got potions with the Slytherins. That'll make four classes we're going to share with them this year, plus Duelling. This is going to be a long year."

"Well, look at it this way. If they mess with you too much, you can always get back at them in Duelling."

"And turn into another Snape? I'd rather not."

"Did I hear you mentioning my name, Mr. Potter?"

A chill went through Harry's spine. Just as things had begun to settle between them, he had to go and say something like that just as Snape was coming up behind them. He turned, pale-faced and tried to cover himself.

"Sorry sir. I was just saying to Hermione how we..." but then he stopped. Snape wasn't behind him at all. All that stood there was a small group of Ravenclaws, staring at him intensely. Finally, after a few moments, they all burst out laughing. Harry was dumbstruck. After a few moments, Terry Boot stepped forward.

"Sorry, Harry. I just couldn't resist."

Harry continued to look blankly at him until he finally opened his hand and showed Harry what looked like a small harmonica.

"Fred and George gave it to me. They wanted me to test it out and see how well it works. So far, I'd say it's working like a charm." They all laughed, when suddenly Harry heard a more controlled version of the same icy voice. This time he knew that this was no joke.

A few minutes later everyone had filed into the classroom and taken their seats. As it turned out, Advanced Potions consisted of so few students from each House that they all were represented in class with several tables and chairs to spare.

This class was a bit different from the previous years of potions. First, there was much less mocking of the Gryffindors and Harry in particular, as there was only Harry, Hermione, and to Harry's surprise, Hagrid.

They all sat together and brewed a simple growth potion. The three of them worked well together and, with Hermione's direction, didn't make any major mistakes.

The next hour went by faster than any Harry had before known in potions and before he knew it he found himself walking back up the steps and out of the dungeons. Just as he stepped back into the Entrance Hall he saw Dudley heading his way, likely on his way down for his Potions classes. As he was behind the other students his age, he was only required to take five classes, potions being one of them, but each class he took in paired groups, such as second and third year classes, or as was the case in Potions, third and fourth years. In this way he had hoped that he might be able to catch up with Ginny's class when she graduated.

As he approached Harry he finally looked up and got a very mischievous look on his face and turned quickly to one of his friends. When he turned back, it was replaced with a kind and pleasant look.

"Hello Harry," he greeted with a little too much enthusiasm. "I'd love to stop and talk a bit, but I've got to get to class."

"Right," replied Harry. "And don't worry about Snape. If he gives you any trouble, just ignore it. Otherwise he'll start taking points away right quick."

"Okay. Well, see ya later," Dudley said, heading into the dungeons.

Harry paused for a moment, thinking about how things had just gone, then rubbed it off and headed for the staircase. He'd made it two steps when he felt a tingling at his feet, and the next thing he knew, he was falling flat on his face.

Shaken but not really hurt, he turned over to see his shoes had been tied together with some kind of locking charm, and as he peered over his shoes he saw Dudley looking just over the last steps, laughing his head off before turning and going descending into the dungeons.

Harry was furious. He pulled out his wand and freed himself quickly, ran towards the dungeons and was just beginning to wave his wand when Hermione caught up with him and held him back.

"Harry, you can't just go around and start jinxing people. First of all, it's wrong, and you could get in trouble. Plus, you're a Professor now, and you have to start acting like it."

"Yea, well he's family, and I can jinx family all I want."

"Harry, just let it go. It's not worth it."

Harry huffed on for another thirty seconds, then finally relaxed.

"I knew it couldn't last. Well, maybe we'll be lucky and he and Malfoy will annoy each other to death."

"Well, we've got some time left. Why don't we see if we can track down Ron?"

But there was no need. Just as they began to head upstairs, Ron can running down the stairs towards them. They all joined together and headed outside and down to Hagrid's Hut.

They spent the next two hours going over their homework and brushing up on their charms. Hagrid seemed to be re-integrating into the curriculum quite well, and everyone agreed that he would likely be able to graduate next year with the rest of Harry's class.

Finally, just before six, they all packed up and headed back to the castle for dinner.

Two hours later they were all up in Harry's classroom with Dobby, planning different lessons and playing around.

The twins had also dropped by, as well as Neville, Seamus, and Dean. They hung around until just before ten before heading back to Gryffindor tower for the night.

The next few days moved by fairly quickly. Classes began to flow more smoothly, and though he wasn't able to say anything to her, Harry was still able to spend at least one hour a day with Amanda. She turned up in his Charms class, and it seemed this would be another permanent addition to their schedule. Professor Flitwick explained that they'd had an orientation that prevented them from attending on Monday, but this was a single exception and that they would be here for the rest of the year.

Other than that, Harry didn't seem to have much to look forward to, except perhaps for his one hour lessons with Dumbledore. Over the rest of the week he had learned the final two lessons. The fourth and fifth lessons dealt not with theory of duelling, but in actual practice.

The fourth rule Dumbledore gave him was to remember that a wounded animal is often more dangerous than a healthy one. Rule five was to remember that wand magic is not the only magic in the world. There are many magics that do not require a wand, and if used with discretion, using these magics could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

"This is why we are stressing the Occlumency and Animagus training," said Dumbledore. "These together can give you advantages over your enemies. It is also why we have brought the Americans here. Did you know that though they have been doing magic for several years, none of them have before held a wand before they came to Hogwarts?"

"I don't understand, sir. I thought they all came from wizarding schools in America."

"They do indeed. In fact, four of them have been going to their magic schools longer than any other students at Hogwarts."

"But how is that possible if they've never picked up a wand. I mean, all they'd be able to do is potions and Herbology. Everything else requires a wand."

"Actually, that is not true. Contrary to popular belief, our wands are not what allow us to use magic. Were that so, any Muggle who picked up a wand would be able to use magic. Do you not remember doing accidental magic before you came to school here?"

Of course, there was the infamous incident with Dudley and the glass just before Harry had come to school. There had been other times as well, before then. He nodded to Dumbledore in agreement.

"There you have it. Wands are used so that we might focus our magic, but it is not our source of magic. Unfortunately for them, there are very few magical creatures left in America, so they do not have much in the way of cores for their wands."

"But why couldn't they just come over here and buy one?"

"Well, legally there is none, though it is quite frowned upon. This is one of the reasons Ollivanders is one of the most famous wand makers in all of Europe. He is quite willing to let anyone buy a wand, no matter where they may come from, so long as the wand responds appropriately to its user. In fact, he spends one week each year travelling throughout America and selling those wands that get the proper responses. He's been known to sell as many as fifty wands in a trip."

"So wands are used there, just not very often."

"Right. However, most Americans feel it is more of a hindrance than an advantage. You see, they become very intimate with the spells they use, and while they may not be as powerful as those with wands, they can be much more reliable, and many of them require no words or movements at all. However, I believe we have gotten a bit sidetracked, and there are still a few more things we must cover today."

They spent the rest of the week fine-tuning Harry's spellwork, and on Friday Dumbledore promised to work with him for several hours Sunday morning, working on spells which Harry had not yet seen or heard of. It promised to be a very fun and educational time.

Before Dumbledore left, he gave Harry a small pocketbook titled _Dumbledore's Five Rules to Duelling_. Inside it listed the five rules they had gone over, along with several examples of how they might be applied, including little snippets of memories from when Dumbledore had applied the rule.

With another long week in the books, Harry was quite happy that night to crawl up in bed and relax, fondling the Medallion and thinking of how he might be able to pull together enough courage to approach Amanda some time this weekend. He forced any thoughts about his first class on Monday out of his head and fell quietly to sleep.

He had wonderful dreams of a simple four on four game of Quidditch. He, his Dad, Sirius, and Remus were playing against the three Hogwarts founders, with Charlie volunteering to round out their team as their seeker.

Asleep in his bed, Harry smiled broadly and tightly wrapped his hand around his medallion, ironically the same size as a Golden Snitch.

- -- -

**COMING SOON**

**CHAPTER 14**


	14. Chapter 14 Life's Lessons

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 14

Life's Lessons

Harry awoke in a cold sweat. He hadn't slept well, and now, mere moments from waking, he knew there was no hope of returning to sleep because today was the big day.

He hadn't felt any worry on Saturday, not even when he finally found the nerve to approach Amanda and ask her to the homecoming formal for all the Sixth and Seventh years to take place the last week of September.

He'd found her outside, lying against the same tree he'd seen his father at in Dumbledore's Pensieve.

He'd questioned Ron about whether or not he thought she was cute, and Ron replied with a sly grin.

"Finally looking to get back on that horse, eh Harry?" Ron said sinisterly.

"At least I've had a ride," Harry replied.

Ron's eyes went wide for a moment, so Harry added, "You know, if I can get a date with her, you could always ask Hermione. We could all go together."

Ron grimaced. Then, for no clear reason, a sly grin crossed his face. Ron had seen his opportunity to repay Harry for all of his recent remarks regarding Ron's feelings for Hermione. If Harry wanted to but in, fine. Ron would simply do the same.

"Oh yeah? Well even if I did want to have a go at Hermione, I'd never get my chance if I had to wait for you to ask her first," " he replied with a sinister tone, nodding towards Amanda. "I'd be long dead and buried before that ever happened. But since you were so nice as to try to help me with Hermione, why don't you let me return the favour."

And with that, Ron headed right over to her and, as though presenting a prize said, "Amanda, right? This here is Harry Potter, and he'd like to invite you to the Homecoming ball, if you'd like. But of course you'd like, wouldn't you. After all, he's Harry Potter."

Harry's face was crimson and turning scarlet. In all his life he'd never been so embarrassed.

Grabbing Ron by the back of his robes and pulling him away he said apologetically, "I'm sorry. Sometimes his mouth gets big enough to fit a horntail's egg in it. If you'll excuse us now, I've got to go find myself a new best friend."

He'd turned and begun to drag Ron away when he'd heard someone call his name behind him. He turned around to find Amanda walking briskly up to them. He couldn't help noticing how many curves she seemed to have when she walked straight at him.

Trying not to stare, he looked her straight in the eyes and smiled, waiting for her to address him.

"You know," she said casually, "I'd love it if you asked me to the ball. It might be a nice change to have the most popular guy at school on my arm at a dance, if the offer's still open."

Harry's jaw dropped so far that when he'd realized it was open and shut it, he did so too quickly and bit his tongue, trying hard not to flinch. After a lifetime of ten seconds he finally swallowed, smiled weakly, and nodded his head.

"Great. It's in two weeks, right?" Harry nodded again. "Great. Well, I guess we can meet at the top of the stairs of the Entrance Hall, if that's alright?"

"Sure," Harry said meekly.

"You know," Ron added, "the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year is coming up next week. We could all go together, if you'd like. Call it a kind of warm-up period for you two, before the big date."

"That'd be great. Well, until then, I guess I should get back to my homework. I guess I'll see you in classes on Monday, right?"

"Right," Harry said, trying to recover some measure of dignity.

They began Quidditch practice that night since their first game of the season was only three weeks away and, more importantly, they were facing Slytherin. This meant that they would be running three days a week, and daily the week before the game.

Practice had gone quite well, even though the twins had decided not to return as Beaters.

"We just don't think it would be fair, having us playing against the other teams like that," replied Fred when Harry asked.

"Besides," added George, "those two blokes from last year seemed quite fair for the job."

Harry didn't like it, nor did he really believe they were telling him everything, but he wasn't likely to change their minds.

And so the remaining players took their positions, with Ginny replacing Angelina as Chaser and allowing Harry to retake his place as seeker.

Ron had done moderately well, keeping out four of every five goals. He was really putting an effort to it, and everyone seemed to feed off it, seeing it as an omen of the season to come. Harry just hoped that it would actually last through the games. Ron seemed strong last year during practices, though it didn't seem to last through to the games. He did, however, play well during the final game of the year against Ravenclaw which earned them the Quidditch Cup and turned him into an instant hero.

Ginny was showing a lot of promise as a seeker, playing together with a third year, Natalie MacDonald, and Colin Creevey's little brother, Dennis.

All together, the team looked pretty good, and the day ended with a general feeling of optimism for the upcoming year, confident that the Quidditch cup would remain theirs for another year.

Sunday kept Harry too busy to fear the upcoming week, as he had another full round of Quidditch practice, in addition to helping Hagrid with his homework.

It wasn't until after he left Hagrid's and began to head to his own class that he began to worry about his teaching abilities for his classes, but Snape helped quell any of those fears by going over the final revisions to the class syllabus, followed by a set of duels.

Though Snape was able to challenge Harry to his extremes in their duels, Harry had noticed that he had held himself back a bit in a few areas which he would not have against other duellists. He kept thinking that if he took more rounds than Snape, it might break whatever sense of allegiance they had with each other.

Later, as they finished writing the course outline for the students, Harry couldn't help but go through the duel in his mind, and to his surprise he found that, had he put his all into it, he'd have won more rounds than Snape by an average of three to two. However, he passed this off as probably being just as true of Snape.

He was saved from asking Snape however when Dumbledore entered and asked how things had been going. Snape and Harry agreed that they were well prepared for the classes to come, and that they were confident that the students would learn a great deal. Harry gave a copy of the course outline for each class to Dumbledore who seemed quite pleased.

"It looks like this may very well have been the best idea I've had for Hogwarts in quite some time. I must thank the both of you for this. It means quite a bit," he added with prideful smile.

Snape nodded, and Harry said he was happy to do it.

"Harry, I think that is enough for today."

He paused for a moment, seeming to decide something, then said in a very monotone voice, "I think you should know that I was against you being given appointed as Deputy Professor of the Art of Duelling Class. Over the past month, you have proven Dumbledore right."

Was Snape paying him a compliment, Harry wondered? It had surely sounded like a compliment.

"And as a reminder, though you will only be assisting me on Monday, I will expect you to share the supervision of the students as you will be heading the class of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs on Tuesday, as well as heading both classes on Wednesday."

Harry stood straight up, jutting his chin out. "I'll be ready, sir." Harry replied sternly.

"Very good. Good day to you, Mr. Potter." With that, he packed his things and headed out past Dumbledore as he entered. "Good day, Headmaster," he added with a nod.

"My, my," Dumbledore said as soon as the door had closed behind Snape. "I had hoped that putting you two together might form a sort of bond between the two of you, but this is far more than I had expected. I doubt he has ever given higher praise to a Gryffindor student in all his years at Hogwarts, with perhaps one exception."

"Mum," Harry agreed.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "He was quite fond of her, before she and James began to date."

"Yeah. He told me," Harry said softly. A moment later, he'd realized his mistake.

"Indeed. Severus has had many tragedies in his life, and Lily was neither his first, nor his last."

Without a second thought he'd responded, "He told me about his last girlfriend. The one Voldemort killed in front of him."

"Really?" Dumbledore replied. He seemed quite happy to hear this titbit of information. "Now that is interesting. You know, to the best of my knowledge, you are but the second person I know to whom he had told. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you hadn't asked me about it before now. I suspect you were at least mildly curious as to why he would tell you such an intimate piece of knowledge about himself."

"Well, he said that you and he had talked, but he said if you wanted me to know about that, you'd tell me when you were ready."

"Indeed. Well, as they say, there's no time like the present. Put quite simply, he and I spent a great amount of time together speaking on the topic of who you are and what you mean, not only to the world, but more closely, to him. Indeed, we spoke for several hours a day during the first two weeks of the summer holiday."

Harry sighed. That was going to be a long talk. "So that's why he's so nice to me lately," he replied.

"Yes, in part." Dumbledore replied. He paused, seemingly brought into some deep thought, staring off into some distant place for several minutes. Then, as though breaking through a spell, he continued on as though no time had transpired.

"I believe there is something which you deserve to know, as it pertains to Severus, and why he has recently had a change of attitude when it comes to you. It goes back to the days when your mother and father, as well as Severus, had all been students here at school. I believe you are aware of some of the events that transpired during their days here."

Harry's head dropped a bit. "Yes Sir," he said apologetically.

"Indeed. Severus told me of what had transpired, as it had a great bearing on the subject at hand. Nevertheless, the animosity Severus had for James grew quite strong over the years, but I had mistakenly believed that it had died off after they left Hogwarts. On the contrary, it continued to grow inside Severus until he met a Miss Samantha Jamison. For a short time, Snape had become quite happy. Unfortunately, his work for Voldemort at the time conflicted with his relationship, and when she became a liability, well, you are aware of what happened."

Harry nodded. He knew how he felt after Sirius had died, and he was generally an upbeat kind of person. For a self-loathing person like Snape, it would be like dropping a recovering alcoholic into a pool of beer. Things began to make a bit more sense about why Snape was the way he was, but this still didn't tell him why the sudden change.

"You see, before Miss Jamison was killed, Severus had begun to show signs of becoming the young man I had always known he was capable of. At one point he had even addressed to me how he felt about Voldemort's plans, and that is how he became a member of The Order. However, these things did not come to pass as we had hoped. Though Severus had chosen to continue working with us even after her death, it was not for the reasons I would have hoped. He was driven by one thing only; a pure, deep-seated, and completely unadulterated thirst for revenge. And as it turned out, what happened to you and your parents was the worst thing that could have happened to Severus."

A half horrified, half confused look overtook Harry's face.

"Let me see if I can quickly explain. Severus had, for several years, dedicated his life to avenging the death of Miss Jamison. When Voldemort was killed by the backlash of the spell that hit you, Snape had lost that chance for revenge. Worse yet, Voldemort's death cost him the only other woman he'd loved, and though he was not with her, his love for her had not changed. And then, as though to add insult to injury, you survived. The spitting image of the man whom he blamed for his losing Lily, his anger and hatred had threatened to boil over, and he'd considered you at fault for her death. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, but a man blinded by hate rarely sees the truth set before him."

"But as you were only a baby, he could not remain angry with you for long, so he turned his attention towards capturing any remaining Death Eaters. The next two years of his life he dedicated to the downfall of each and every Death Eater he could find, and to carefully watch all those whom got away."

"Is that why he's always acting as though Malfoy were better than the rest of the students?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. But more deliberately, he volunteered for post as Head of Slytherin House as a way to keep tabs on many of those who were still loyal to Voldemort. As you know, Mr. Malfoy's father is considered to be one of the most dangerous of the Death Eaters, so Severus has done his best to ensure that the son come to trust him. He believed that if the need arise, he might be able to use the son to get back in good graces with the father. Recent events may have offered just such an opportunity. But again, I have lost track of my point."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, headed to the desks, and sat down. Harry joined him, never saying a word.

"And so," he continued, "we come back to you. I had hoped that with Voldemort gone and most Death Eaters either dead or in Azkaban that teaching classes at Hogwarts might give Severus a new focus, perhaps even a new chance to become the man I knew he could be. Unfortunately, it was not to be."

"Sorry," interrupted Harry, suddenly remembering something Snape had once said. "I think I missed something. Snape, I mean Professor Snape, he told me that he was the one who told you about Voldemort being killed while trying to kill me. What I don't get is, how did he know?"

"Well, I thought that would be obvious. Because at the time, he had all the appearance of being a loyal Death Eater, and happened to be with Voldemort when Mr. Pettigrew informed his master of the Potters' location. At the time, Severus had volunteered to take care of the Potters' himself, perhaps to give him time to inform us first. However, Voldemort insisted taking things into his own hands for reasons we both know, now. Therefore, all Snape could do was to alert us and send some of us there to stop Voldemort while he protected the other child."

"Neville. Yeah, he said that."

"That's correct. Unfortunately, that day was full of other missions that the Order members were doing, and by the time he reached one of us, the house had already been destroyed and you were left there, a tragic victim of the fates."

"But how do you know that he wasn't lying? How do you know that he didn't deliberately wait until it was too late before contacting you? He might have waited until finding out that Voldemort had died trying to kill me, then ran scared to you, playing the hero."

"There are two reasons I know that not to be. First, because no matter what can be said about Severus, one thing is absolutely true. He rarely forgives, and never forgets. I do not believe that Severus could ever willingly serve Voldemort after what transpired with Samantha. The other reason I will not go into detail about just now other than to say that since the day she was murdered by Voldemort, I have and will continue to wholly trust Severus, and I hope that you can take me for my word when I say that you can trust him as well."

Harry's face contorted a bit. Sure, he could trust Snape. It was what he trusted Snape to do that bothered him.

"But of course," Dumbledore continued, "this is merely half the story. For what I have said thus far may have given you some insight regarding Severus and why he is the man you know today, but it was the insight into your life which is truly the subject at hand."

Looking worried, Harry asked, "What do you mean, insight into my life?"

"Well, do you remember when I told you in your first year that you looked quite a lot like your father?"

"Of course. I hear it all the time, which you also told me."

"Indeed. Well, I now believe that Severus's dislike of James was re-ignited when you came back to school You see, since teaching at Hogwarts Severus has become accustomed to burying his feelings of anger and distaste, releasing them in small ways."

"Like giving Slytherins ten points for spelling their names right but taking ten for showing off if a Gryffindor answers a questions correctly."

"Unfortunately, yes. It seems he finds comfort in very little these days. But he does feel comfortable with feelings of spite or anger. Every since the son of James Potter came to Hogwarts, a young man of his father's image, you have given Severus a renewed place to focus his anger, and this has greatly increased his feelings of relief in the other facets of his life. In you he saw only what he wished, which was the man that he believed took Lily from him. He continued to feed on those feelings until they grew into a dislike of you which had become completely independent from that of James."

"So he hated me because of I reminded him of my dad, but now he hates me because I'm me."

"Essentially, yes. If you only wish to see the bad in someone, eventually you will become blinded from seeing any good. This is what has begun the feud that has lasted the past five years between yourself and Professor Snape."

Dumbledore signed, stood and began to walk about the room, and Harry followed as they continued to talk.

"Unfortunately, this proved all too true during the times in which I had pointed this out to him and he did not take it as well as I had hoped. Nonetheless, it was not doing any serious harm at the time, and thus I did not wish to pressure him into anything that might make things worse. However, the events which transpired last June crossed a line."

Dumbledore stopped in front of the shelf of Sneakoskopes, all of which were quite silent as he turned to look down at Harry.

"There are no good reasons that you should have felt unable to go to Severus when you had that dream of Sirius at the Ministry of Magic. However, because of the gap that had grown between the two of you, you had not even considered him trustworthy, and that was too much for me to allow it to continue. Something had to be done. You, of course, needed an explanation, but it was not your anger at him that set things in motion, and it would not solve them. Severus was the key and if the gap between the two of you was to be bridged, it would need to start with him. To put it simply, he needed to see in you what the rest of us saw, and that was not to be an easy task."

"So how did you do it?" asked Harry.

"First, I showed him the prophecy in its entirety. I explained to him that it meant that only by your hand would Voldemort live or die. It was my belief that if he understood this, he might be more open to anything else I might have to tell him. If nothing else, I had hoped that his desire for revenge against Voldemort would outweigh his dislike for you."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," recited Harry from memory.

"Exactly. I had hoped that this might open him to see you in another light, and it seems I was right. Of course, as I said before, it took two weeks of discussions and many shared memories of you and I over the past five years. I wanted to show him all the good you have done, as well as the modesty you have shown in your deeds. I reminded him that it was not your choice to enter the Triwizard Tournament, that you had saved both the Sorcerer's Stone as well as the lives of many of our students from the Basilisk during your second year."

"At first I was unsure of how successful I was, but our talks over the past week have settled many things between us. At this point, I do not believe that Severus will ever see you with the same eyes he had when you first came to Hogwarts. Furthermore, I believe it is safe to say that though you and he may never develop a lasting friendship, his desire to bring about Voldemort's downfall should give him reason to keep any of his ill feelings towards you at bay."

"Is that why you teamed him with me for this class?"

"Indeed. I believed and still believe that if you can establish a connection with him, even if it is only a professional one, then that would be good enough. But though he has now taken the first steps towards a mutual respect with you, it is your responsibility to feed it and keep the peace alive, so to speak."

Harry nodded. "I'll do my best, sir."

"Does this help you to understand where he is coming from?" he asked.

"I think so." Harry said softly. And with that, finally getting an idea of where Snape was coming from and why he was acting the way he was, he knew he had to do as Dumbledore asked. If Snape was going to try and make this work, Harry would do the same.

"Very good," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Well then, let us turn our attention to the reason were to meet here today. But first, are you still wearing your medallion?"

Harry pulled it out from around his neck and Dumbledore smiled, nodding his approval. Then he called for Peeves to come out once again.

"Well, today we are going to break the fourth rule of duelling," he announced. "As you remember, rule four pertains to how advanced a spell one should use in a duel. We had covered how the most useful spells in a duel are your most basic spells. However, there are some very powerful spells that I believe you should be accustomed to use. You see, there is a short list of spells which are both extremely powerful and rather simple. I'm going to teach you a total of nine spells, both offensive and defensive. That was the original purpose of our meeting today, and it is all we will be doing for the next six hours."

And so they began. Dumbledore first gave Harry a quick preview of each of the nine spells, then set aside three spells which they would work on for the rest of the day.

The first spell was a simple freezing spell, quite similar to the "_Petrificus Totalus_"spell, but he soon discovered that not only was it faster, requiring a single swift vertical wave of the wand and saying "_Desiit,"_ but could also be used against a large group of people by calling out "_Desiit Populus_."

And were that not enough, it turned out that it could also be used against non-corporeal beings, such as ghost and, to Peeve's dismay, Poltergeists.

The second spell was the banishing spell "_Pulsus_" which drove a person back ten feet, though it appeared to pull the person away rather than pushing them, and when Dumbledore demonstrated it on Harry he noticed it also did not throw off his balance. It was truly an odd feeling. In addition, this spell too could be brought to the next stage by calling out "_Pulsus Populus_" instead.

The final spell of the day was "_Quiesco,_" which put its target to sleep. This one was most useful in panic situations as it would simply put anyone within an affected area to sleep, except of course for the caster.

"Sir," Harry said as they were taking a quick break, "why are none of these spells taught to the rest of the school?"

"Well, of the nine I am teaching you, five of them have only come into my possession recently, and the others, including "Quiesco," are only taught to Aurors because of their potential, as well as their singular use. These are spells that have but one purpose, and that is duelling. But since they are generally used to incapacitate large groups, the Ministry felt it best if they were not taught at Hogwarts, and I agreed. However, I felt, and the Minister agrees, that you should be taught these spells to help you prevent history from repeating itself."

"Oh," Harry replied shortly.

They went back to practicing, spending an hour on each spell.

He wasn't sure if it was Dumbledore's style of teaching, or if it was merely because the spells were so simple, but he couldn't remember learning spells so quickly. Just before quitting time Dumbledore called for several of the school ghosts to assist them in allowing Harry to cast the multiple target form of "_Desiit Populus_.". Here he came up short, having only limited success with it by freezing two ghosts, but only for half a minute instead of it's standard multiple effect of two minutes.

Still, on the whole it was a very good day of training and he slept quite well that night.

Now he was awake, worrying about his first classes as a Deputy Professor. It didn't seem to help much when he reminded himself that it would be Snape teaching today and not him. All he could think of was all of those students, just sitting there waiting for him to tell them how to duel, and more importantly, how to survive. If he made the slightest mistake, it could mean the difference between a student's life or death.

Harry tried to shake those kinds of thoughts out of his head.

Wiping his forehead with his comforter, he took a deep sigh and put on his glasses.

Looking at his clock he saw that it was barely quarter after five. It would be at least another hour before Ron and Hermione got up, and everyone else would get up half an hour after that.

Taking the rare chance to shower on his own, he grabbed a change of clothes and a towel.

Half an hour later he was heading down through the common room and out the portrait of the Fat Lady who yawned as she wished him good luck with his first day of classes.

He headed down to the kitchen to see if there might be anything ready to eat.

However, as he passed by the Great Hall he heard the familiar voices of Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

Feeling a bit over confident with his new position, he walked casually into the Hall as though it were midday. To his shock, he was greeted rather warmly, except of course for Snape who simply nodded his recognition of Harry's arrival.

Harry sat down with them at the staff table and took a biscuit with a cup of Hot Chocolate.

"So, Harry, are you ready for your first day of class?" asked McGonagall.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry replied with all the conviction he could muster.

"Well, I for one have complete confidence in you, Harry," Dumbledore said. "You've already shown that you can teach students how to duel, as we saw last year during O.W.L.s. You've also proven yourself against several Death Eaters, and further so during our practice sessions. As I've said before, Harry, I have full confidence in your abilities, and I suspect that by the end of the week, you'll feel quite comfortable in your new position as well."

"I hope so, sir," Harry signed.

"I suspect you will find yourself quite capable once you begin," Snape added in a rare show of compassion.

"Thank you. But personally, I'd rather just get it over with. The longer I have to wait the more I'm going to worry."

"Well, it should be light out soon. Perhaps you could placate your worries regarding classes by worrying instead about the upcoming Quidditch match. I've heard over the years that you find flying on a broom to be quite soothing."

Thinking about it for a moment, Harry nodded his agreement. "You know, I think you're right. An hour of flying could be just what the doctor ordered."

And with that, he grabbed one more biscuit and headed out for a quick flight around the Grounds.

By the time he got his broom and got outside he found the sun had already begun to rise.

He mounted his broom and took off, closing his eyes so he could enjoy the wind blowing through his hair, the incredible feeling of freedom he always felt when he flew, and the release from all worries that came with flying.

After a few moments he opened his eyes, panned off, and headed for the lake, first flying high above, then swooping down to mere inches from the water so that he could trail his hand over the lake's surface, enjoying the brisk cool air that resided there.

He flew around the grounds for a full hour, spending time going over the Forbidden Forest where at one point he was sure he had caught sight of some moving trees he figured were being moved by Hagrid's brother, Grawp.

Before he new it, he heard the chiming of his watch and found it was time to return to the castle and prepare for his first class.

The moment he touched down he ran through the front door and headed straight to the secret door near the Great Hall. He noticed as he passed by that students were just beginning to get up from breakfast. Checking his watch again he found he had fifteen minutes before class began.

A few minutes later he entered his classroom to find Snape already preparing the class for his first lesson, having all of the benches and tables set as well as both of their desks.

He headed to his own, taking one last look at the student list for the class and checking the course outline. As a last minute change, they had decided on Thursday that they would work with the students a bit differently. They noticed an imbalance in how large the youngest group of students were, while the mid year students all filled one class. This meant that the A and B groups of first years and second years respectively would only have about forty students in it while the single C group of third through fifth years would total out around a hundred and ten. This was too big a change, so instead they merged the A and B groups and separated the C Group in its place.

This meant that the third through fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins would be in a separate group from the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. This kept the classes grouped more manageable, and after the first month of classes, the first years would then be separated inside the class, with Harry teaching one group and Snape teaching the other. The next week, they would switch off. But of course, this first week would be a bit different, but the younger students wouldn't be running practical lessons for a few weeks as it was.

After looking this over for quite some time, Harry began to hear some of the students coming down the hall and headed into his office where he changed into his Professor's robes. By the time he had come out, nearly half the students had already arrived.

The rest of the class was a blur. At lunch while talking to Ron and Hermione about class, he told them how odd everything was.

"Everything just seemed to work on its own. Professor Snape took the lead, taking roll before going over the outline for the year. Then he had everyone open their books and read the first two chapters. Then, during the last ten minutes or so of class he had me stand up and cover the basics and ask the questions we had worked out. That's about all I can remember of that class."

"Well that sounds pretty easy," replied Ron. "What about the other class?"

"Well, that one was a bit of the same, really. Only, instead of teaching all the houses, we had only the Gryffindor and Slytherin third, fourth, and fifth years. The only difference was that Professor Snape and I demonstrated a basic duel at the end of class. It was already choreographed, so there were no surprises there. We each took turns showing basic attacks and defences, a lot like our first day of the duelling club in our second year."

"You fought Snape?" Ron blurted out. A few students looked around at him, but Ron didn't seem to notice.

"No, we didn't fight. We just duelled a bit, and we already knew what we were going to do. He used _Expelliarmus _on me and I returned the favour. Then he tried to petrify me, but I cast the counter jinx before it got to me, so nothing happened. We went on like that for a few minutes, then class got out and we dismissed the class. That was it."

"Sounds about right to me," Hermione said approvingly.

"Of course, that'll be nothing compared to tomorrow's classes," Harry said with a concerned manner.

"That's right," Hermione said with wide eyes. "Tomorrow's your first class in charge. Oh, that's going to be fun," she added with a giggle.

"Oh yeah, real fun. Especially with Dudley being in the class and all, since it will be a repeat of my second class today with the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. That's going to be loads of fun."

"Wait a tick. I thought you and Dudley were mates now," Ron jumped in.

While Harry rolled his eyes, Hermione filled Ron in, but before she could finish they heard the bell and had to head off to class.

The rest of the day and night went by as quickly as the day two years ago when Harry had to go up against a Horntailed Dragon in the Triwizard Tournament. It seemed he merely blinked and he was sitting in bed, sweating once again, and at ten minutes before midnight he headed to the hospital wing for another drink of the Dreamless Sleep potion.

As he headed back upstairs he thought about his day to come. Soon, too soon, he would be in front of sixty students, each waiting for him to teach them everything he knew of duelling.

He was just twenty feet from the prefects' bathroom when he thought of this and he ran for the door, barely getting the password out as he choked back the sickness that was growing in his stomach.

Rushing through the door he quickly ran for the toilet and heaved.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been there before she'd arrived, but soon Moaning Myrtle was floating overhead, laughing and giggling at his misfortune. After several threats, Myrtle finally ducked off down the drain of one of the sinks, still cackling all the time.

Finally, some time around one, he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, drinking the potion as soon as he was in bed. Within minutes he found his eyes feeling heavy and closing on their own accord. Smiling at the bliss that was soon to come, he let his eyes close and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The next morning seemed to go by even quicker than the day before, if that were possible. He awoke half an hour late, Ron shaking him furiously.

"Harry," he cried when Harry's eyes finally began to budge, "it's already ten after eight. If you don't get up soon, you're going to be late for classes. Hermione's on her way up right now with a spot of breakfast."

His eyes flew open and he jumped out of bed, just getting his robe on before Hermione knocked on their door.

Ron let her in and she placed the plate of food on Harry's trunk.

He ate quickly, thanked them both, then ran off out of portrait hole and through the other, taking the steps two at a time.

Checking his watch he found he had seven minutes left when he reached his classroom. Hoping none of the students had arrived inside yet, he opened the door and headed in. To his great relief, no students were there, thought Snape was sitting at his desk.

"I heard we had quite a night, Mr. Potter," he commented. "Do you feel up to teaching today?" he asked with the smirk Harry hadn't seen in the past few months. No matter how he felt, he wouldn't give Snape the satisfaction of giving up so quickly.

"I'm alright. I guess I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me."

"Very well," Snape said, returning to his more recent demeanour.

Snape headed for the door to let the first of the students come into class as Harry took his seat at his desk.

He began to fiddle with his paperwork, though by now he pretty much knew it all by heart. After all, today was a fairly simple day as it was. Still, the butterflies began to flutter in his stomach, and the more students that came into the classroom the louder the Grandfather Clock behind him began to click.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

His head was pounding as the seconds ticked away. He checked his watch and saw he had a minute to go.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

Thirty seconds, and his heartbeat seemed to thump harder with the passing of each second.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Ten seconds, and the last student came through the door, closing it behind him.

TICK TOCK!

Times up.

- -- -

COMING SOON

CHAPTER 15

All in a Days Work


	15. Chapter 15 The Plan

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

CHAPTER 15

The Plan

Sixty pairs of eyes were fixed on Harry as he sat at his desk, transfixed by the echoing sound of the chime behind him.

After a lifetime of ten seconds, he pulled the roll sheet over and began to call off the names. He wasn't much paying attention to who was responding, but more just trying to get his bearings. However, by the time he'd gotten half way through the call sheet he had become a bit more aware of the students and who was responding when their names were called.

At the same time a soft voice not unlike Hermione's had begun talking in his head, telling him that he'd done things like this a hundred times before with the DA.

"Just read their names," she said in his head. "Then you can make the introduction speech you've had memorized for three days. After that, all you have to do is tell them to read their books and assign the ten questions on the board. Three more minutes and you're done. Then you don't have to do anything until you duel Snape, and you've done that half a dozen times over the last week. After that, class dismissed for ten minutes."

Without giving it a second thought, he nodded to himself, confirming to himself that he could do it as he continued to take roll call. It was then that he'd realized he had already passed Dudley's name and had not even looked up to see him.

This seemed to wake him up a bit and as he continued to read the names he began looking up and acknowledging the students as they answered his call.

When he finished reading their names, he stood, walked to the chalkboard, and tapped it three times in rapid succession. A quick outline of the chapters appeared on the board along with five questions listed for each chapter. Above this in large letters was the title of the class with "Professor Severus Snape" written in the upper left hand corner and "Deputy Professor Harry Potter" in the right.

Harry took a deep breath, turned, and addressed the class.

"Good Morning, and welcome to your first class on The Art of Duelling. The purpose of this class is to teach you how to properly conduct yourselves in a proper wizards duel as well as to teach you how to defend yourselves against the threat of dark wizards. A large bulk of this class will be dedicated to a practical lessons and exercises which will train you to be a proficient duellist. You will also learn the rules of a proper wizards duel and when those rules apply. It is the Headmaster's hope that each of you will be capable of defending yourselves in any given situation, even one such as the events which transpired at King's Cross, by the end of the school year."

Harry took a deep breath. The hard part was behind him. All he had to do now was wind things up.

"However," he continued, "before we begin working on practical lessons we must first understand the basics of duelling and the laws and responsibilities of hold every witch and wizard accountable for their actions. This is covered in the first two chapters of your books, so what I would like you to do is read each chapter and answer the ten questions written on the board. If you finish early, you may continue reading through to chapters three and four, as we will be covering those in the second hour of class. Now, are there any questions before we begin? No? Very well, you may begin."

And that was that. With the worst over, he could sit at his desk and relax.

He busied himself by picking up random paperwork and shuffling it around as if to look over, though in reality he hadn't the slightest idea what they might be. He was too far dazed by the feeling of relief to see straight, and so he simply did his best to make himself look busy while he basked in the triumph of surviving his opening speech.

After twenty minutes went by Harry heard the first quill dropped on one of the tables. He looked up and saw a short Ravenclaw girl Harry guessed to be a third year sitting politely with her book closed with her parchment inside.

He stood, walked around his desk to her seat, bend down a bit and asked in a hushed voice, "Is there anything you're having difficulty with, Miss..."

"Aberdeen," came soft but high-pitched voice. "Alice Aberdeen. I've finished, sir."

Harry grinned, impressed. "Very well," he replied. "You may continue to read on to chapter three, if you like."

"I've already read that too, Sir. I've read the entire book straight through, sir."

Harry smiled. Here was Hermione three years ago.

"Well, I'll tell you what," he said sympathetically, "If you can hold out for the rest of today, I will make a full list of books that you may read in class after you've finished the assignments, alright?"

"Thank you, sir," she replied merrily.

Smiling, Harry walked around the room, checking in on some of the students and making sure none of them were having any problems. As half the class was Ravenclaws, it was unlikely, and he found that the biggest problem seemed to be the number of book lists he would need to write.

He passed by Dudley who smirked at him but said nothing, though Harry barely noticed as he was trying quite hard to avoid looking at his cousin.

After walking around for five more minutes Harry finally went back to his desk to once again review the outline for the Duel that was fast approaching.

When the last quill was put to rest Harry called on a young Ravenclaw in the front row and had him collect the papers. When they were all collected he placed them in his desk, stood and addressed the class once again. This time, however, he was not nearly as nervous as he had already done this part the day before.

"Now, before we begin working on any practical lessons, I would like you all to take out another parchment and split it down the middle. Now, Professor Snape and I are going to demonstrate a proper wizards duel. Now, while we are duelling I would like each of you to write down in the first column any illegal manoeuvres you take notice of. Just as a fair warning, we will both be performing three illegal moves in the course of the duel, all of which were covered in chapter two. Now, in the second column I would like a list of anything you saw during the duel that you thought was a mistake. After a short break, we will begin discussing each of the illegal manoeuvres and answering any questions you may have up to that point. If there is time afterwards, we will begin working on a basic spell every duellist should know. So, are there any questions before we begin?"

A few hand shot up and Harry called on a Hufflepuff boy in the back of the room.

"Are you going to tell us how to fight You-Know-Who?"

Harry sighed. He knew someone would ask, and he had a prepared answer, but he was still quite depleted by the question.

"All questions regarding any alleged encounters I may have had with Voldemort," the whole class flinched at the name, "will be discussed during the final class before Halloween, and not before. Now, before we continue, are there any other questions?"

Only one hand remained; that of Miss Aberdeen.

"Is there going to be a course outline of the spells we are going to be learning throughout the year?"

"There will be a list, but I'm afraid that list is to wait for another day. Anyone else?" Harry asked a little more curtly.

When nobody replied, he and Snape sent their desks back into the floor, asking each of the students to stand and so that they could raise the main platform. All the students seemed quite impressed with the platform coming from the floor and moved in to watch.

Without addressing the students any further, Snape and Harry walked to the center of the platform, saluted, and headed to their respective places. This was Harry's first rule to break, remembering Malfoy's move from their second year. Mid-way between two and three, Harry hit Snape with a basic blinding spell, which Snape knew was coming, yet played his part of being upset, broke the charm, and responded with the Jelly-legs Jinx.

Back and forth they went for ten minutes, so finely trained in the exercise that Harry had lost all recognition that he was being watched.

When the final Spell was cast, Harry was up by one. This, of course, was pre-planned so that whichever professor was teaching, he would win by one, thereby allowing them to prove themselves as an adept Duellist as well as leading nicely into the open forum they were about to begin.

Harry had another two students collect the papers and separate them into separate groups. He then began going over the suggestions of spells and techniques that the students had written down and discussed with them why he did one thing over another. He was surprised to find that through all the duels he'd had and all the work he and Snape had gone through, most of the answers he gave them boiled down to his discussion with Dumbledore the week before.

Going through the suggestions took much longer than Harry expected and by the time they had finished there was only ten minutes left of class, so Harry gave the nights homework lesson and gave them the go ahead to begin now.

After the bell rang and the class had emptied, Harry quickly ran to his office to prepare for Apparation which would begin in less than five minutes. Just as he reached the door he heard Snape call his name.

"Yes sir?" he said, turning back.

"I just thought you should know that you handled yourself well today."

Harry, stopped dead in his tracks, waited for what seemed like an hour for more to be said, dumbfounded by what could only be considered as high praise coming from Snape. Finally, after Snape entered his passage to go back to the dungeons, Harry snapped out of it, ran back in his office, and after a quick change headed into his own passageway and headed out of his room a few minutes later.

The rest of the day seemed blank when compared to his first class as Professor Potter. He'd met up with Ron and Hermione and told them what happened, spending more time on Professor Snape's comment than on the rest of the class. Still, Hermione seemed to see it as a good sign.

"Perhaps what Dumbledore had said was true," she said in an apprehensive voice.

Though Harry hadn't told Ron and Hermione the details of his conversation with Dumbledore, he did give them a very vague overview of what had been said.

"Maybe. Or maybe he's just watching his Ps and Qs. Whatever it is, I think it's real. I doubt I'll ever look at Professor Snape the same way again."

"I guess not, seeing as how I can't remember the last time you called him Professor Snape, yet you've called him that twice in the past two minutes."

"Well, I guess... I don't know what I guess. All I know is, now that we're working together it doesn't seem right just calling him Snape anymore."

"Don't worry, Harry. That's a good thing, really. I'm proud of you."

Ron, seemingly sensing another step in the wrong direction between the two, found this the best time to bring up another subject close to Harry's heart.

"So, Hermione, Harry's going to Hogsmeade with that American girl, Amanda, and I thought maybe you'd like to come along, kinda, you know, together."

"Of course I'm coming, Ron. When was the last time we didn't all go _together_?"

"Well, I meant more of, well, oh never mind. I've got to go to class."

Harry, finding a quick grip on Ron's cloak, added with a smile, "What Ron is trying to say is, will you go _with _him to Hogsmeade, as in, on a date."

"Ohh," Hermione said wondrously. "Well, if that's the case, no."

"Thanks a lot Harry. You know, I would have done... Wait a tick. What do you mean, NO? Why not?"

"Because I'm going with someone else. I was going to ask you two if you'd mind, but now, I don't think it would be right. But maybe you could go with someone else."

Harry broke in this time, before Ron could get a full head of steam. "Hermione, who did you ask?"

"Well, as it so happens, I've been talking to David Dodgeson."

"Never heard of him," Ron and Harry said in unison.

"He's one of the exchange students, if you must know."

"Oh, that's just great!" Ron exclaimed. "Is everyone at school dating one of them? Heck, maybe I should go out with one too. Maybe that Sarah gal. She was okay looking. I could take her to Hogsmeade."

SLAP!

"Bloody hell!" Ron cried out, a bright red imprint of Hermione's right hand across his face. "What the ruddy hell was that for?"

Harry stifled his laugh. "I don't think Hermione liked the way you were talking about picking some girl just to make her jealous."

"Who said anything about making her jealous? If she doesn't want to go out with me, why can't I go out with someone else?"

Harry tried in vain to get Ron to understand, and after a few minutes he changed the subject.

"You know, you'll be in my class tomorrow."

"Yea, I know. I can't wait," he added with a mischievous grin.

"Don't you even think about trying anything. Don't think I won't put _you _back to work on those trophies, or maybe back out to the Forbidden Forest."

"That's not what I was grinning about."

"Well, what then?" Harry asked, concerned the twins might be planning something.

"I was thinking of the other houses that will be there."

"What do you mean? All of the classes will be there. That class has the sixth and seventh years from all houses, plus the Exchange students."

"Including the Slytherins. I can't wait to see the look on Malfoys face the first time you tell him what to do."

Harry's eyes suddenly began to sparkle and the grin on his face was brighter and more sadistically wicked than Ron had ever before seen.

"What?" Ron asked curiously.

"Oh, you'll see. We've got something very special planned for Malfoy."

"What?" Ron repeated imploringly.

"I can't wait to see the look on his face. It's going to be priceless."

"What!?!" Ron demanded loudly.

"Don't worry, you'll see," Harry replied simply.

Ron spent the rest of the day trying to get more out of Harry, but try as he might he was not able to get any more information. Even as they lay in bed that night, every few minutes he would ask, until finally the other boys yelled at him to shut up and get to sleep.

Meanwhile, Harry lay in bed and went over the plan. He and Snape had come up with the idea that for the advanced class of sixth and seventh years.

When they talked about it, Harry and Snape agreed that a demonstration of Harry's duelling ability versus Snape would be too rehearsed and would likely make Harry look bad in front of the class.

So, they came up with the plan which would prove Harry deserved the job, and best of all, they were both sure that Malfoy would be the one step forward and accept the challenge.

What had surprised Harry so much about the plan was how much Snape seemed to enjoy the idea.

"I'm sure Mr. Malfoy could learn a valuable lesson from this," Snape replied to Harry's suggestion.

Shocked by the thrilled look on Snape's face, Harry asked, "But will it work on him? I don't want to plan it all only to find out it was all for nothing."

"Trust me, Harry. He'll do it, and he'll fail worse than any other student in that class, including those _Americans_." Harry noticed a strong disgust in Snape's voice, but said nothing. Instead he moved the subject back to Malfoy.

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm a bit confused. I thought Malfoy was your favourite student."

"My favourite student? Malfoy? I doubt there has been any student I have ever liked less, other than perhaps yourself, or your father."

"But he's your Quidditch Seeker. You've always been real nice to him and shown him off like he's your best student. You've always shown favouritism towards him."

"Of course I have. How else could I have accomplished all I have in the past five years? Remember who his father is and what position he has held with me in the past. I've had no choice in the matter. Lucius Malfoy is my best chance for getting back into good graces with the Dark Lord, and as Professor Dumbledore has always believed that he would one day return, he suggested that I do my best to keep in Malfoy's good graces."

"But in the graveyard Voldemort said that he was going to kill you."

"Really. And you are just now telling me this?" Snape replied with a sneer.

"Well, he was also going to kill me at the time, so it wasn't exactly something I'd thought about until just now."

"Indeed. Well, never you mind about that. This is not the first I've heard of this threat, and if you think back I think you may realize he wasn't talking about me."

"What do you mean? And how do you know what was said, unless…"

"No, Mr. Potter. I was not there that night, but as I said before, I have done my best to get back into the good graces of Mr. Malfoy. He was the one who told me about the Dark Lord's threats. Now, I believe you will find, if you think hard enough, that the Dark Lord said he _believed _that one Death Eater left his service."

"Okay, but how does that not lead to him wanting you dead?"

"Because Lucius Malfoy was able to convince the Dark Lord that the only reason I had not come when summoned was that I was with Professor Dumbledore at the time. He was able to give enough reasons for my absence, attempting to show that I was merely waiting for the right time and that he would never get another Death Eater as close to Dumbledore as I have done over the past fifteen years."

"But what about when you faced Quirrell. He must have known something was up back then."

"Perhaps, and that is likely the reason why it has taken so much time to show any progress with him and his Death Eaters. But Lucius has given me the impression that things are progressing and that there will be some time in the future when he will ask me to prove myself. So, until such time as Voldemort is destroyed or my cover is blown, I must keep up the charade that Young Draco is my prize student."

Harry hadn't said anything for a few moments. He thought about all Snape had said and, as much as he hated to admit it, it made sense. But he didn't have enough time to think things through as Snape had just then reminded him that he had less than two minutes left before he was due at his Apparation Class, and he hadn't had a chance to again think about what Snape had said until now.

But if he played things out right, Malfoy would jump at the opportunity. And, thinking for a moment on what Harry knew, and more importantly, what he'd learned in the past week and a half, Snape was right about one thing. Malfoy didn't stand a chance.

And with this thought, Harry fell to sleep.

Harry's first class on Wednesday was a repeat course of his second class on Tuesday, only this class consisted of Gryffindors and Slytherins.

There was, however, one difference Harry hadn't expected. It seemed this class was much quieter, especially on the Slytherin side, and so they finished the same work in half the time, which meant they would be able to work on some basic practical lessons.

As these students were still a bit wet behind the ears when it came to magic, Harry decided to start with the most basic spell, _Expelliarmus_.

After withdrawing all of the benches and arranging the pillows against the walls, Harry had the students pair up and form two lines. As he anticipated, the Slytherins paired with other Slytherins and the Gryffindors did the same. As it turned out, they paired up perfectly.

He then showed them the basic stroke of the wand and proper pronunciation. After they all repeated this several times and he was sure that they had the essentials down he had one group practice ten attempts against their partners, then they switched. They continued this exercise for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, Shape and Harry walked about the room, watching the students and helping those who needed it. By the end of the class, some of the students were showing some real promise.

Exhilarated at working in some hand-on training, Harry hadn't noticed how fast time went by, and soon the bell rang out and the students started heading out.

Harry, proud of the work he'd done, went back to his desk and grabbed something to drink, regaining his composure and grabbing the paperwork for his next class. That's when it hit him.

Suddenly, all the strength in him was gone. Using the desk to support himself he walked around and sat down in the chair, flinching at the sound of the door closing as the last student had gone.

Noticing the sudden change, Snape asked, "Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?"

Harry, taking another deep breath answered, "Sorry. I just realized what time it was. I hadn't realized how soon we'd be working with this class."

"If you prefer, I could head this class," Snape said with a slight smirk.

Taking a few deep breaths, Harry replied, "No. If I don't prove myself now, there's no way I'm ever going to be able to control this class."

"Very well," Snape replied, offering his approval.

Harry stood up abruptly and headed into his office, telling Snape he'd be back shortly.

Closing the door behind himself he ran quickly to the trash and heaved; spilling half of his breakfast in one shot. Quickly running over and picking up a towel he wiped his face and grabbed a drink of water.

Searching for anything that might help calm him, he began looking around the room and saw all those gifts left to him by Sirius and his other friends. Then, his eyes fell upon something he had never before noticed and headed over to one of the glass shelves and opened it up.

Picking up the old D.A. contract they'd all signed he smiled and began looking over all of the names. Ron and Hermione, both doing so well. Before they started the D.A., Ron had always been sloppy at best with his spells. But after a few meetings he was starting to think about what spells he was using and when.

Hermione, on the other hand, executed the spells perfectly, but there was very little improvement from her. This left her with little flexibility when it came to unusual situations which, Harry found, seemed to be more regular than anything else. But by the end of the year she had really begun to learn how to switch styles and become looser with her duelling style which, if this continued, would make her quite formidable within the next year or two.

And Neville. So much improvement in such a short time. And the Twins. They both seemed to soak up what Harry had taught them so quickly and readily, the only thing he'd ever heard of them putting as much effort into was Quidditch.

And the list went on. For five minutes he read over the list, feeling more and more confident with each name, not only because of what they'd accomplished because of him, but also because most of these were the same students that had been with him last year. He'd be with friends in there, and he drew comfort and strength from this. Finally there was a knock at the door and Snape told him that it was time for class.

Taking one final look at the list, Harry put it back in the case and made a note on his desk to have it put somewhere more visible when he had the chance.

Taking one final deep breath, he turned to the door, opened it, and headed out.

When Harry walked into the room he noticed many of the students had already come in, including Ron and Hermione. In fact, looking at those that were present, all but two where old D.A. members.

He went over and sat at his desk and looked up just in time to see the exchange students piling in. There, the last one to walk in, was Amanda who looked exceptionally nice today.

Harry quickly looked around for some Slytherins, hoping that they might draw his attention from and _distractions_. Unfortunately, it seemed none of them had arrived yet, and looking back at the clock he saw there was only a minute before class began.

More students filed in, until, with seconds to spare, Malfoy walked in, all the sixth and seventh years following him as though they were a large game coming to fight. They took the back four seats, all in front of Snape's desk as though putting an exclamation point on their disapproval of having Harry teach the course.

As the bell finally sounded, Harry closed the door with a wave of the wand.

"Here goes nothing," Harry thought to himself. Placing his hand briefly over his medallion he stood, walked around the desk, and began.

"Welcome to the Art of Duelling. Before we begin today, I'd like to first cover a few misunderstanding some of you may have about regarding this class. First, though this class is here to train you in the art of duelling. This is not a course on how to pick a fight and win, but how to survive if you are put into a situation where your life may depend are your ability to duel."

Harry noticed as he was talking that Malfoy had given Crabbe some kind of sign because he now had his hand raised, as did Goyle. Harry was about to comment when an unexpected voice interrupted him.

"Put your hand down, Mr. Goyle," came Snape's voice. "You too, Mr. Crabbe."

There was a slight softness in his voice, but it seemed Harry was the only one who noticed. The rest of the room had gone dead silent. After ten seconds, Harry continued.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," Harry said pleasantly. "As I was saying, the purpose of this class it to ensure that you will be able to defend yourselves should you have the misfortune of coming face to face with a Death Eater, or worse, Lord Voldemort himself."

A collective gasp filled the room at Voldemort's name, and this was just as Harry expected.

"I'll have none of that in this class. The only thing you do by flinching at the sound of Voldemort's name is to give him more power in the form of your fear. And believe me when I tell you that there is much to be feared of Voldemort, but his name is not one of them. And this brings me to my next point. Many of you hear were involved in a club headed by myself in which we practiced the practical side of Defence Against the Dark Arts. You may find many similarities between that club and this class, but you will find many differences as well."

He searched the class, noting many of the students whom he'd previously worked with. But there were so many new faces, and it was time to address them as well.

"However, whether in that club or not, this class is quite different. For one, Professor Snape and I will be sharing the teaching duties in this class, and we expect to be treated as equals."

"And you think you're equal to Professor Snape?" came Malfoy's voice from the back.

_You're early,_ thought Harry, though he said instead "Point well taken, Mr. Malfoy, though I will have to deduct a point from Slytherin House for your speaking out of term."

"You can't do…"

"That will be all, Mr. Malfoy," Snape jumped in abruptly, "unless you wish to lose more points for your house."

Malfoy snapped his head towards Snape and gave him a half sneer, half plea for help, which he wouldn't get.

"Thank you again, Professor Snape," Harry said again, this time with a polite nod and smile. "Now, although you did speak out of turn, you do make a valid point. The idea that a sixth year student, even the great Harry Potter, may seem an unfit choice to head one of the most important classes in the school. Well, I asked the Headmaster the same question and he told me that he felt I was the best choice for the job."

Several of the students seemed to puff up a bit as though giving Harry their support, while others, like the Slytherins, seemed to shrink away in disgust.

_So far so good, _Harry thought.

"Well, after discussing this point with Professor Snape we came up with an idea which we proposed to the Headmaster, and he approved. And so, during this very class, I will open a challenge to everyone in this class. I will face anyone who believes that they would be more capable of teaching this class in a proper wizards duel to five points. If you win, the class is yours, no questions asked. Are we all agreed?"

A stunned silence filled the room. That was three times already and they were only five minutes into class.

He smiled politely and waited, the silence continuing on for thirty seconds. He had noticed that Malfoy was nudging

_Alright, time for second chances_, he thought.

"Very well. Since it seems nobody feels comfortable with that challenge, I'll make things a bit easier for you. I will limit myself to spells I learned during my first three years here at Hogwarts. Those who accept the challenge will be allowed to use any spells which can be cast in a legal wizards duel, including any spells you may have learned outside of school."

That was the ticket. Malfoy jumped up so fast that some of his fellow Slytherins were complaining about how he'd bumped into them on his way up, but he seemed too transfixed to notice. His eyes were sparkling at the idea of duelling with a disabled Harry Potter.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said approvingly. "I take it you are volunteering?"

"Yes sir," Malfoy said eagerly. This was his chance to get back at Harry for his father's imprisonment and he was not going to let it go by, and Harry knew it. Everything was running according to plan.

"Very well, Mr. Malfoy. Please come to the front here and go to Professor Snape for your instructions. Meanwhile, I'd like the rest of you to get up from the benches and move back to the walls."

They did as he asked and very entertained when Harry sent the benches back into the floor, but even more so when he produced the centre duelling platform.

Everyone immediately moved in and surrounded the platform while Harry finished some things at his desk.

Ron and Hermione quickly walked over to him.

"Harry, I'm not sure this is the right thing to do," Hermione said ominously.

"Don't worry," he replied with a smile, "Just go over to the platform and enjoy the show. I've got everything under control."

"I hope you're right," Ron replied as they turned away.

He finished compiling his paperwork and lowered his desk.

As he headed for the platform he saw Amanda, staring at him in awe and wonder, a huge grin across her face. Turning to look at Malfoy, he had to work hard to conceal the smile fighting to spread from ear to ear. But as hard as it was to fight the grin from thinking about Amanda, it paled when compared to the suspense of waiting for this very moment; a moment when he would be able to duel Malfoy right in front of these ninety plus students and nobody would object.

Stepping up the platform he met Snape and Malfoy reviewing the rules one last time. When they were done, Snape addressed the class.

"This duel will be the best of five points. One point will be gained for each complete disarming, which is to lose one's wand for a five count, or to become completely incapacitated. One point will be lost for any illegal spells or moves. Three faults and the match will automatically be defaulted. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah. Who wants to help _Professor_ Potter move his things out of my office?" Malfoy spat.

"Very well," Snape said, ignoring Malfoy. "On my count."

Harry saluted Malfoy who responded with a purely hateful smirk before Snape began counting down.

"Ten. Nine."

_Shield first. He'll go for a force spell, Expelliarmus or something of the like. Protect yourself first, then you'll get the clean Rictusempra. _Harry thought.

Eight. Seven.

_Then he'll get mad and try something bigger. A quick Blinding will get to him first. _Harry grinned.

Six. Five. Four.

Then he'll be really miffed and careless, and he's all mine.

Three.

Harry's smirk grew to a smile.

Two.

_Time to Dance, Malfoy._

One.

Harry turned quickly, much quicker in fact than Malfoy, and was already casting the _Protego_ even as Malfoy was focusing on Harry's position.

Malfoy, not holding back, shouted _Depulso Inimicus Maxime_. Coming from Malfoy instead of Snape or Dumbledore, the spell seemed to take forever to hit his shield spell.

The moment it made contact Harry began the casting _Expelliarmus_ so that his wand movement finished just after the previous two spells dissipated, hitting Malfoy dead centre in the chest. His wand flew up and over the platform, everyone watching as it fell nicely into Harry's awaiting hand.

Snape came over and took the wand from Harry, bringing it back to Malfoy. Then he stepped back down from the platform and cast _Lumos Brevis_. After only a few seconds, the small ball of light disappeared, announcing their next round.

The light was out for half a blink of the eye and Harry had already cast Caecus, a blinding spell, hitting Malfoy just as he was about to finish casting _Rictusempra_, a spell Harry once cast on him, but it missed completely and flew off towards the ceiling. A quick _Petrificus Totalus_ from Harry finished the round.

Since Malfoy's wand still resided in his hand, Snape simply revived him, announced Harry's point, and cast _Lumos Brevis _once again.

And again Harry was one up on Malfoy, casting _Wingardium Leviosa_ on his robes before he could properly cast his own spell. As he was now too busy trying to get the front of his robes out of his face, Harry cast Accio on Malfoy's wand and caught it as casually as though it were an everyday occurrence.

Malfoy went before the light had gone completely out for the following round, but Harry had anticipated it and cast Wingardium Leviosa on himself just as he'd also bent down which gave him the extra boost he needed to jump over Malfoy's spell. Malfoy, so shocked by the tactic, hadn't noticed Harry cast _Manus Pando _which caused him to drop his wand as his fingers stretched out as far as they could.

Snape began to step forward, noticing Malfoy's fault and preparing to reprimand him for it, but Malfoy was already making to break another rule. But yet again Harry took notice of just how slow Malfoy was and had plenty of time to cast Silencio before Malfoy tried to cast another spell.

Harry watched as Malfoy moved his lips and Harry could swear he was mouthing the Cruciatus Curse, but he couldn't be sure. In any event, he scored the final point with the _Dormio_ sleeping spell, which also concluded the Match.

Everyone began to cheer for Harry as Snape revived Malfoy and pulled him aside quite forcefully. Harry assumed that, other than himself, Snape was the only one who caught what spell Malfoy was trying to cast, and Harry had one last trick up his sleeve.

"Thank you. Now settle down, everyone. Please, settle down. This is still a class and we still have things to cover today. But first, Mr. Malfoy, if you please."

Snape had released Malfoy by now and was walking behind him as he approached Harry with a look of complete revulsion on his face.

The moment he was within range, Harry offered his hand to shake. "Mr. Malfoy. That will be ten points..."

"What?" Malfoy interrupted between gritted teeth.

"For Slytherin house. And thank you for assisting me with this demonstration. You did quite well."

Harry said all of this with a very sincere smile. In truth, Malfoy truly had helped Harry out in many ways. For one, he helped make an important point to the class that he deserved his position as Deputy Professor. And for another, facing Malfoy in front of all these people allowed Harry to show that challenging him in class was not going to accomplish anything, nor would it score well with the other students at school.

But more than all of this, it settled something deep inside Harry. He'd always worried that, if it ever came down to it, Malfoy might have the edge if it ever came down to a real duel. Now he knew what everyone else kept telling him; that he needn't worry about Malfoy. They were right, and Malfoy just helped prove it. Now he just had to keep things going, which brought him back to the class.

Since this was the Advanced class there was to be no in-class bookwork. The students were asked to read the books for a test the following Friday and it was their responsibility to know the material.

Instead, they split the class into two groups, each group consisting of students from all four houses. And so, for the remainder of the class Harry and Snape went over the basic spells used in duelling and made sure that everyone was familiar with them.

As it turned out, The class as a whole knew much more regarding duelling spells than Harry and Snape had expected. In the end only seven students were separated with the exchange students to make up a small class within the class. These students would be brought up to speed by whichever Professor was not working with the main group.

The bell rang to sound the end of class and Snape dismissed the class, but as they began to file out he called out, "Mr. Malfoy, if you could please come here for a moment."

Harry wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he would be damned if he missed it. As it turned out, Professor Snape invited him over as well.

"Mr. Malfoy, I understand that you and Professor Potter have not gotten along over the past five years. While I can sympathize with you as your Head of House, as well as your Duelling Professor and Professor Potter's colleague I feel I must warn you that today will be the last day that I will accept any disrespect directed towards him. He has both the Headmaster's full support as well as my own, and if you disrupt this class or in any way show a lack of respect to him I will personally see fit that every floor of this castle is scrubbed and polished with a toothbrush. Do I make myself clear?"

Malfoy, clearly shocked at Snape's threat, simply nodded.

"Very well. And I suspect that you, as a Slytherin Prefect, will convey this message to the rest of the house."

"Yes sir," Malfoy said hoarsely.

"Professor Potter. Do you have anything to add?" Snape asked politely.

"Thank you, Professor. I think you covered everything quite well. Do you have anything to add, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry challenged.

"No sir," Malfoy said between gritted teeth.

"Very well. I'll see on Friday then. Good day."

Malfoy didn't say a word but sneered at both Harry and Snape, then walked out of the room, fuming all the way.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Harry commented.

"Worse? I don't think it could have gone any better, the little prat."

Harry's ears pricked at the slip by Snape. He looked over at him in astonishment, about to ask for an explanation to his outburst, but Snape had already packed up and begun to head for the passage back to the dungeons, calling out behind him, "If I were you, I'd get moving. You've got another class in four minutes, if I'm not mistaken."

Harry's eyes bulged. Snape was right. He turned without thought and headed for his office, swapping robes and grabbing his bag and running down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

He came out on the third floor this time and headed straight for the staircase which, as it turned out, was just around the corner. He was in such a rush when he reached the staircase that he didn't even notice that Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors were still above him, coming down the fourth floor staircase which seemed to find fit to choose this time to move.

At lunch he was treated like royalty by every Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor in the school. It seems that the entire school knew about the duel between him and Malfoy. Of course the Slytherins seemed to be more than a bit miffed at him, but none of them seemed willing to address it to him face to face.

Even Dudley seemed sheepish to look at him during lunch. Everyone else kept patting him on the shoulder and telling him how much they enjoyed his class, even those who were in his earlier classes.

He was back in the spotlight, but for once it didn't seem to phase him too much. He'd earned the respect of his fellow students instead of having it given to him because of he was the Boy Who Lived.

The rest of the day went the same as lunch, and he enjoyed playing the celebrity, though Professor McGonagall had spoken to him regarding his newfound celebrity status.

"Now that you're a Professor," she said, "you need to exercise some caution around the other students. Of course, I don't expect you to give up being young; lord knows I enjoyed myself when I was your age. I just thing you might want to keep an eye on your fans and make sure that you keep yourself out of trouble, if you can," she added sternly.

"Well I'll have you know that I've done quite well so far, thank you."

"So I heard. I also heard about the incident with Mr. Malfoy earlier today. Both the good and the not so good. I hope you realize how fine a line you treaded there, Mr. Potter."

"But if I didn't then I'd be looked at as a fraud by every Slytherin in the class. I had to make a statement before they made it for me."

"I'm not saying you did wrong. I'm simply saying that you need to watch what you are doing. There was a very good reason for you to do what you did, but it may not be so next time. I'm simply saying that you should keep that in mind, especially when you are not in your classroom."

"Yes Ma'am," Harry answered back. He'd known all this, but he let her go on. If he didn't she'd probably go on all day.

"Very well, then. Off to Charms with you."

And off he went, first to Charms and then to Quidditch practice.

Practice turned out pretty well all around. Ron had done even better than the previous practices catching nearly every goal attempt that was made. For a while the team began to become concerned with the chasers, but they soon realized that it wasn't how bad the chasers were doing, it was how good Ron was doing.

All in all, it had been a truly perfect day. Harry just couldn't help but smiling, even through dinner, homework in his class, and all the way up to the time he got into bed.

And so, as the full moon rose and shone through Gryffindor Tower, he lay there and thought about his upcoming classes, the rapidly approaching Quidditch game, and his first date with Amanda during the coming weekend.

Still the smile remained, even as he slept, and though he knew a day like this was not likely to come around again for quite some time, he decided that he was just going to enjoy it while he could.

- -- -

COMING SOON

CHAPTER 16

Good Things Come in Threes


	16. Chapter 16 The Date

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 16

The Date

The rest of the week went by quite quickly, most noticeably in Duelling class.

The A Class showed him slightly more respect than they had in previous classes, but it was barely noticeable except that their questions seemed to have a bit more thought behind them as though they might be trying to impress.

Class B was quite the same, although the Slytherins did seem to be quite a bit quieter than in their previous class.

However, Classes C and D seemed to have been much more affected by Harry's now infamous victory over Malfoy.

Class C, for instance, seemed to hang on Harry's every word, even the Slytherins, and every challenge and demonstration was answered with hands up by all students, Slytherins included.

The D class, of course, was the most severely affected class of all. This was started by the opening remarks Snape made when class began on Friday.

"Before we begin today," Snape began, "I would like to make something very clear. Wednesday's challenge was a one time only challenge, and I expect that Professor Potter had quite well displayed his abilities to teach this class."

The class was completely silent as he let these words float for a moment, staring down everyone who seemed to challenge this thought. Of course, this was a very short list, comprised mainly of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and one or two other Slytherins sitting near by.

"In addition," he continued, "for any of you who feel that Professor Potter was lucky in that Duel, I recommend you do not. Professor Potter and I have, and continue to have Duels twice a month and I can assure you that you have not seen but a small taste of Mr. Potter's abilities. Of course, if you still wish to question his abilities I might suggest you speak to the Headmaster, as he and Professor Potter also duel on a regular basis."

Many of the faces around the classroom went pale as they turned their attention to Harry, awe and wonderment in their eyes. Here was the boy who lived, duelling with the only wizard You-Know-Who ever feared.

The remainder of the class went on very quickly. They grouped together as they had before and continued to work on the basic spells, going back and forth trying to disarm their partners with one of three different spells. Of course, Malfoy did his best not to do anything in the class, but Snape whispered something in his ear, and a few moments later he paired up with Crabbe and began practicing with the rest of the students.

At the end of class, while the students headed off to their own classes, Harry sat back and relaxed. Fridays were his one day where he had no classes after Duelling, so he would lay back and relax at his desk.

Just before Snape descended into his passageway, Harry asked him about what he whispered into Malfoy's ear.

"I told him that his best chance at showing you up would be for him to learn everything he could from you. That way, the next time you met he would know everything you know as well as those few spells he knows which you do not."

Harry smiled. "I take it you hadn't mentioned that Professor Dumbledore is also teaching me a few new spells."

"Oh, is he. You know, the thought had never occurred to me," he replied with a grin. "I will see you Sunday evening, then?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied.

He spent the rest of the period just laying back and thinking of his first week of classes. All in all, it had gone much better than he had hoped.

And so the week had finally come to an end.

Now, Harry was getting dressed again in his dorm room after having taken his second shower of the day, even though it was just coming up on nine o'clock in the morning.

He wanted to look extra nice today for Amanda, hoping to make a good impression. His previous first date was with Cho and lord knows that didn't go well. Half way through the date, he'd opened a can of worms that led to an entire month of misery before he was able to even speak to her again, and by then things had changed quite a bit.

But that wasn't going to happen this time. He was two years older and a lot wiser when it came to women, especially after seeing how Ron and Hermione acted with each other. He would not make the same mistakes. Plus, she already knew that Ron and Hermione would be coming along, so that was another problem that would be avoided.

He finished getting dressed and headed for the sink where he shaved, even though he had barely grown any hair on his face within the past week. Then he tried to pull his hair back, but it wasn't quite long enough for a ponytail and he was done waiting for it to grow. It was taking forever.

"Just grow already, will yah?" he shouted.

And that's all it took. As though watching a movie on fast forward, Harry's hair began to grow, and grow, and grow some more, until it finally stopped just a few inches from the floor.

Laughing at himself for a moment, Harry pulled out his wand, and with a quick flick his hair was cut so that it lay a nice and neat six inches down his back where he pulled it back into a ponytail.

He looked at himself in the mirror and found that it seemed to age him a bit. He could surely pass for a seventh year this way, perhaps even a first year graduate.

Quite pleased with himself he headed down into the common room where he found Hermione, also dressed up quite nicely, and Ron, sitting eagerly with Parvati Patel, as though showing her off. Harry figured it was all an act, trying to show off to Hermione who seemed to be putting on a show of her own by not paying notice to either of them.

But it seemed that Harry's reason for being there was to draw their attention as they both noticed him at the same time and called out to him at the same time.

"Harry! Ready for a great day out at Hogsmeade?" Ron bellowed.

"Wow, Harry. You look fantastic," Hermione repeated after her first attempt was overshadowed by Ron.

"Thanks, Hermione. You don't think it's too much, do you?" Harry replied nervously.

"Oh no, I think it looks very nice. It's really quite becoming. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were the same age as the twins."

"What are you talking about?" Ron interrupted. "I don't see a difference... Oh, you grew your hair out. I hadn't noticed."

"Of course you hadn't noticed. After all, it took you four years to notice I was a girl, now didn't it?"

"What? How... Oh, forget it. I've got better things to do than to argue with... Hey, where are you going?"

Hermione, having settled the argument in her own mind, was walking to the portrait hole, looking back just as the door was opening.

"I'm going to get my date, if that's alright with you, Ronald," she spat.

"Right then," Harry said unenthusiastically. "Well, off we go then. And by the way, Parvati, you look quite nice today. Don't you think she looks nice Ron?" he added, trying to give Ron the hint.

"Oh yeah. She looks very nice. Honestly I was a bit surprised she said yes, you know, after how big of a git I was to her sister at the Yule Ball."

"Yes," Parvati replied politely. "Well Professor Trelawney said that I would be spending a lot of time over the next year with a tall red-headed boy and that, after he got over a certain social problem, I would find him to be very charming. She said it would be a rough start, but by Christmas things would work themselves out and I would be quite happy with him for the rest of the year."

Harry wondered if that meant the school year, which ended six months later, or the actual year, which meant three months of misery would grant them one week of happiness. But for Ron's sake, he decided not to bring it up.

So they all headed out of the portrait hole and proceeded to the Entrance Hall where they found Hermione, waiting politely and in rapid talks with one of the exchange students Harry immediately recognizes as the Collin wanna-be. His head dropped for a moment, then he noticed who was with them and his spirits rose so quickly he thought he could jump the whole flight of stairs in a single bound.

It seemed to take forever for them to finally reach the ground floor. When they did, Amanda stepped forward quickly and wrapped her arm around Harry's, pulling him firmly to her as though they had done this for the past year, and it felt remarkable comfortable to Harry.

After a series of introductions around, they all headed out the front door and came to Filch's line where he was taking names to make sure that only those with permission were allowed to go to Hogsmeade.

Hermione and David went first, followed by Ron and Parvati, and finally Harry and Amanda. When they stepped forward, Harry was in for another little surprise.

"Alright," he said, looking over Amanda's paper. "It looks like everything is in order, Miss Johnson. You may go."

Then, turning his attention to Harry, he nodded and, with a slight nod he added, "Mr. Potter."

That was it. He didn't check Harry's paperwork, and after a few moments he asked, "Don't you need to see my permission slip, Sir?"

"Of course not, Mr. Potter. You're still a Professor, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, I guess I am," he replied with a smile.

"Well then, you don't need a permission slip now do you, or have you not read the complete admittance packet for all staff?"

He hadn't, but he wasn't about to admit it. "Oh, that's right. Sorry, I've just been a bit overwhelmed with this week, being my first week as a professor and all. Well, thank you, Mr. Filch."

"Have a good trip, Professor. And do try to remember that the rules about Dungbombs apply to both student and teacher, will you?"

"Yes Sir. Thank you," he added, pulling Amanda with him as they took their leave.

"He sounds like a load of fun, doesn't he?"

"Oh, the stories I could tell you. Come on, we need to catch up to the group."

And so they rushed off to meet up with Ron, Hermione, and their two dates.

Hogsmeade was filled with quick chatter as the students were hopping from one store to the next, picking up candy and butterbeer, Dungboms and Fizzing Wizbees.

They first headed over to Honeydukes to pick up some treats, then headed over to the Three Broomsticks for a round of drinks. Ron and Parvati seemed content on talking about the DA while Hermione and David chatted about America. He was showing her a small silver box which Harry could only barely see, but it seemed to have Hermione's undivided attention.

Meanwhile, Harry and Amanda sat by the window and talked about Quidditch, the Triwizard Tournament, and their first experiences with magic.

It seems that purebloods are extremely rare in the states and almost all wizards and witches find out what they are only by doing accidental magic, and even then they usually don't know for sure until they do something big enough to get the attention of the Federal Department of Magic.

"That's how I found out," said Amanda, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It was my eleventh birthday and all I wanted was a pet dog. I begged Mom and Dad for weeks to get me one, but when my birthday came around, all I had was a stuffed animal. So, on the morning of my birthday, just after breakfast, they told me I could only open one present. I found the biggest box, of course, and opened it, hoping as hard as I could that it was a puppy. Well, that's what it was supposed to be, sort of."

Harry gave her a quizzical look, but she just grinned before explaining.

"Well, I used to collect stuffed animals when I was young too, and since Mom and Dad thought I was still a bit too young for a read dog they gave me a big stuffed Dalmatian instead. Only, when I opened the box, out jumped a real Dalmatian, barking and jumping around all over the place. I was so happy I hadn't noticed the shock and horror on my parent's faces until the suddenly grabbed me and pulled me away from the dog, shouting and trying to bat it away with the broom. Of course, they were just scared because what was supposed to be a stuffed animal somehow turned into a full sized dog."

Amanda took another sip of her butterbeer and Harry joined her, never taking his eyes off her beautiful face.

"This stuff is really good," she commented, taking another sip.

"Yea, real good," Harry said dumbly. She just smiled back.

"So anyway, about a minute after they pulled me back, watching the dog run around the room, here comes a knock at the door. The thing was, Mom and Dad were so shocked to see the dog that they didn't move. Honestly, I don't even know if they head the knock, so after the third knock, I walked over and opened the door. Enter Mr. and Mrs. FDM, flashing their badges and waving around these weird cell phones. The moment they pointed their phones at the dog, all of the sudden they started ringing. Just as normal as you like, this lady waved her hand towards the dog and just like that, it turned back into a stuffed animal. Boy, if you think my parents were scared before, you should have seen them after that. They nearly jumped out of their own skins, literally."

"So what happened?" Harry asked intently.

"Well, they sat us all down and told us what happened, explained that I was a Sorceress and that there were special schools for us. Of course, at first Mom and Dad were really scared and they had to be paralyzed to stop from going nuts, but after half an hour everything had been settled and I was on my way to a new school."

"They paralyzed your parents? Isn't that a bit harsh against a Muggle?"

"Well, I thought it was at first, but you know how the government is. They always have to have their own way. So, I moved to a new school and Mom and Dad got a deduction on their taxes each year because I'm a Sorceress. After they got used to the idea, everything else went along just fine."

"Wow. And your parents are okay with everything now?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Oh yeah, they're just fine now. But with the law surrounding Magical knowledge, you'd kinda have to be. I mean, with all the cover-ups out there, when you find out the truth, there's no going back."

"Cover-ups? What do you mean?"

"Oh, that's a long story which I'll save for our next date, but let's just say that most of America's history was impacted by magic a lot more than any Norms would think."

_Next Date? _Harry thought. _Well, that's a lot better than being scolded for having friends before running out on me._

"Uh, sorry, what's a Norm?" He asked, trying to recover from his own thoughts.

"You know, Norms. Normal people. Muggles."

"Oh, got it." he replied stupidly.

"But enough about me, what about you. How did you first find out that you were a Sorcerer, I mean wizard?"

And so Harry launched into the whole story about Voldemort killing his parents, growing up with the Dursleys, including Dudley, and his first year at Hogwarts.

They sat there for the rest of the day, just drinking butterbeer and chatting about nothing, everything, and anything in between. They reminisced about their first few years of magic school, and the world they grew to know after they discovered that magic was real.

One thing Harry came to realize as they were sitting there and talking was that each time the conversation lead towards Voldemort she would change the subject. But what really caught his attention was that it never felt like she was avoiding the subject, but it more as though she just didn't care enough about Voldemort to discuss him.

Harry wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose or not, but as it was a nice change from the norm, he decided that if she wouldn't mention it, neither would he.

It was just getting dark when Madam Rosmerta came by and reminded them that it was time for them to return to Hogwarts.

They finished their drinks and looked around to find the place all but deserted with Ron and Hermione nowhere to be seen.

"That's odd. I don't see Ron or Hermione anywhere."

"Oh, they left hours ago," Amanda responded with a slight giggle.

"Really. I can't believe I hadn't noticed." Then realizing why and before he could stop himself he added, "I had so much fun just talking like this, I can't believe I didn't notice them..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Amanda had reached over, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and quickly pulled him into a soft but very firm kiss. All other thoughts vanished from Harry's mind.

Time drifted away, dusk having melted away in mere seconds as Harry lost himself in her kiss, so soft and smooth, yet firm and strong at the same time.

It was only after the fourth reminder from Madam Rosmerta that he pulled himself away from her long enough to check his watch. It was a quarter to seven, nearly two hours from the time they were supposed to have left.

"Come on," he said hurriedly, jumping out of his chair. "We're late. We should have been back at the castle nearly two hours ago."

She got up, pushed in her chair, and followed after him, all the while smiling as she watched Harry bump and trip over anything and everything in his path.

When they got outside Amanda made to the right for the path down towards the castle but Harry had turned left, heading up the street. She paused only a moment before shrugging her shoulders and following him up the street, turned a corner, and headed through a broken down fence.

When they reached the door to the Shrieking Shack Harry pulled out his wand, opened the door, and headed upstairs to the same room where he had first learned that Ron's pet rat was Peter Pettigrew.

When they entered the room, Harry quickly walked over to the one window, which was not completely boarded up, and pulled out his wand.

"Give me a few minutes," he said softly. "This is going to take a bit of time and a lot of concentration."

Harry Raised his wand, closed is eyes, and whispered, "Accio Cloak."

For five minutes Harry stood there, eyes closed, his hand tightening around his wand as he concentrated on the spell.

Another five minutes passed and Harry's fingers began to go white and began to feel numb, but Harry continued to remain unmoving, holding the same pose without any sign that he was even awake. As the fifteen-minute mark approached Amanda made for Harry's shoulder, likely to see if he was still conscious when quite suddenly his other arm shot out of the opening of the window and grabbed at something Amanda couldn't quite see.

Pulling the cloak back through the window, Harry's first move was to check the inside pocket. Just as he hoped, the map was right there where he last left it.

"All right, then?" he asked Amanda pleasantly.

"Uh, sure, I guess. But, what may I ask is that?" she added, pointing to the shimmer covering his arm.

"It's a little present my dad left me. I got it when I first came to Hogwarts. It's an invisibility cloak. And this," he said opening the map, "is a little present the Weasley twins gave me when I was in my third year. Watch."

Harry tapped the top of the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The look on Amanda's face at his words was priceless, but there was little time to bask.

"It's a special map that shows the whole of the Hogwarts grounds, as well as anyone on the grounds and where they are. You see, we'll be taking a passageway from the basement which shows up right here and leads to the Whomping Willow."

"Wait a minute. I've heard of that. Isn't that the tree that beats up anything that comes near it?"

"The very same. But there's a little notch you can touch at its base that calms it down, for a few minutes anyway. But I'll show you when we get there. If we don't hurry, we might not get back in time."

"But we're already late," she said, though she didn't seem too concerned.

"Trust me. Come on."

He took her hand and led her down to the dungeon, through the trap door, and into the passageway that lead back to Hogwarts.

They talked very little as they were walking at a very fast pace, and a little more than half an hour later they began to ascend back up towards the roots of the Whomping Willow.

When they finally got to the small opening at the base of the tree Harry poked his head out, making sure the Willow was still about, which of course it was.

He dropped back down, smiled, and unfolded the cloak.

"Okay, here's what we do. I'll put the cloak over the both of us and we'll head straight for the front door. If we can make it there, everything else will be fine. It looks like we've still got just about an hour to pull this off. That should be plenty of time, if we don't get interrupted."

"Lead the way," she replied with a smile.

But before he could move, she planted another big kiss, and before he knew it, they had lost another fifteen minutes. The feeling he got when they kissed was nothing like what he had with Cho. It was electric. The hairs on his head, even as long as they now were, still began to stick out whenever her hands were not combing through them.

Finally, in a moment of sanity he broke away, totally fixated and summoning all the strength he had not to fall back into her arms, he wrapped the cloak around them both, grabbed her by the hand, and headed out.

Remembering where the notch was, he quickly tapped it. Immediately all the branches of the willow came to a still halt, and he continued out of the hole, offering Amanda an assisting hand.

When they were both out, Harry re-adjusted the cloak and headed for the front door as quickly as possible. It was a nice twenty-minute walk to the front door and Harry checked his watch no less than thirty times in the process.

"So far so good," Harry said as they approached the front steps.

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth when the front doors swung open and the people walked out in a hurried fit.

"We've got to check the grounds," came a familiar voice. "I know she's an adept sorceress in her own right, but she's still a student and I'm quite aware of the dangers surrounding the school."

"As am I, Professor," responded the second wizard. By now, Harry knew the first wizard to be David, Amanda's Professor, and now he knew from his voice that the second and tallest of the three was Dumbledore, and the third would likely be Filch, which was confirmed by Dumbledore's next statement.

"I understand your concern, I truly do. But if what Mr. Filch here has told us is true, then she is with Professor Harry Potter, and I dare say there is no wizard or witch student in this school that I would trust further with her safe return, if indeed they are not already here." Dumbledore stopped just a few feet from the bottom step and looked around, gazing at the vast Hogwarts grounds."

"Remember too that this is a very large castle and it is quite possible that they have fallen through our initial search. In fact," he added as his gaze fell upon Harry and Amanda, "I would not at all be surprised if we come to find that they had inadvertently passed through our search by using one of the secret passages throughout the castle."

Harry could swear that Dumbledore had given a slight nod as he said this, but before he could be certain Dumbledore had turned his gaze off towards the Forbidden Forest.

"You see," he continued, "there are many secret passages throughout the Hogwarts Castle and Mr. Potter is familiar with most of them. Why don't we go back inside and check their dorm rooms again, and then perhaps we the Duelling classroom."

Harry took his queue and led Amanda past the headmaster and his two colleagues, doing his best to be as silent as possible, and headed for the front door even as Dumbledore continued talking to Professor Dave.

As soon as they had made it inside the Entrance Hall, Harry took a deep sigh of relief before leading Amanda to the portrait hole near the Great Hall that led up to his classroom.

After first stepping inside and checking up the staircase to be sure nobody was there, Harry finally pulled the cloak off the two of them and lit his wand.

"See? No problem," he began to say, though he was quickly silenced by Amanda who had taken it upon herself to give way to her instincts and took him into another long embrace.

"Come on," Harry interrupted after a few minutes. "If we hurry we can get back up to my office before anyone finds out what's been done. Then we can just take the long way back to the staircase and nobody will be the wiser."

"Except Dumbledore, that is," Amanda added with a shiver.

"Yea, that is a bit eerie, isn't it," he responded with a nod. "Every time I wear this around him I get the feeling he can see through it. I just can't figure out how."

Harry reviewed his previous experiences with Dumbledore looking at him while he was wearing the invisibility cloak and the other times where he had said as much.

"I don't know. Maybe he's got some kind of magic bifocals or something."

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't think so. Not Dumbledore, anyway. I don't know. I just think he has a way of looking straight into the basic depths of anything magic and turning it to his will. I mean, when I duelled him last week…"

"Wait a minute," she said in a very cautious tone just a few steps from the classroom. "Do you mean to tell me that you've really duelled Professor Dumbledore?"

Something in her tone sent a chill down Harry's neck and blanked out every word she said, so he simply nodded in reply.

"My god. He's like one of the top five most powerful Sorcerers in the world."

"And where am I on that list?" Harry asked stupidly.

"Oh, you're right there at the top," she replied in a sexy voice. "Come on, we can talk more after we get out of here. These passageways are cosy, but a bit too dark and dank for my tastes."

She then proceeded to give him a quick peck on the cheek before starting back up the last few stairs.

They came out into the classroom, finding it exactly as they expected it, empty. Harry headed into his office, opened one of the drawers from his desk, and grabbed a short stack of papers. He came out a moment later waving them in the air.

"I'll take these back to the dorm with me. That way, if anyone asks, we came back here for them so I could make some corrections before I go to bed. See? And we're leaving here with five minutes to spare."

"Five minutes to spare for what? It's not even nine yet."

"Right. But don't you have to be back in your dorm by nine?"

"Not on Saturday I don't. We don't have to be back until ten, and we've come back much later when we've been with a Professor, and last time I looked, you qualified."

"Yea. Okay, you've got me there. But if we want people to think we were back when we were supposed to be, we have to be seen. How about a late dinner? After all, if we're on a date, we should at least eat something, right? I mean, I may not be the best date, but even I know that much."

"Right you are. Let's go."

"Just remember, if we get stopped, let me do the talking."

Amanda just smiled in reply.

And so, arm in arm they left his classroom and headed downstairs. As he expected, they made it about half way down when they ran into Dumbledore and Dave, and after a few moments of explaining they were let on their way.

They headed down to the kitchen where Dobby and his friends gave them more than enough to eat, and after they were plenty full, they headed back to the staircase for their final farewell for the night.

"I've had a great time today," Harry said with a silly grin.

"Yeah, I've had fun too. You're not a bad date, Harry Potter. At least, not after you're loosened up a bit."

Harry blushed ten shades of red in less than a second. He knew she was talking about their first kiss at the Three Broomsticks and all the fun they'd had since then, but it was the comfortable feeling he had with her, like they belonged together, that just made everything else seem right.

They spent the next five minutes saying goodnight without speaking a word. Finally, Amanda broke away, gave him a final peck on the cheek, and headed east to the Hufflepuff dorm while Harry headed up the staircase to the Gryffindor Tower.

Unfortunately for Harry, his night was not quite over yet. He had barely made it to the fifth floor when he found himself face to face with a very displeased Headmaster.

"Harry," he said shaking his head. "I would have hoped you would have been a bit more responsible with your time, now that you've take post as a Deputy Professor."

"I've very sorry, Sir. It was a complete accident. We just lost track of time. I don't know what happened."

Dumbledore's eyes sudden widened. A knowing smile crossed his face and a glitter shone in his eyes that was not there before, almost as though a thick fog had suddenly been lifted.

"I see," he said with an amused tone. "Well, I expect we won't be having this problem again, so I will not go into how much trouble this could have caused us. However, I would like to remind you that you do have a full day tomorrow and it looks like you still have some papers to finish grading before you go to sleep."

He was right, of course. There was a full day of Quidditch practice, followed by at least four hours of work with Snape going over the previous weeks work and preparing for the coming week.

"Yes Sir," Harry answered with a slow nod. "Well, I guess I'd better get going if I want to get to sleep before two."

"Very good. And do try to keep a close eye on that watch of yours. We don't want our guests getting the wrong impression of us, now do we?"

"No sir," Harry responded guiltily.

"Very good. I will see you next week then. Professor Dave should be informed of your return," Dumbledore said with a final nod, then turned and continued down the stairs.

Harry watched for a moment, thinking about Dumbledore's sudden change in demeanour. Did he know of Harry's feelings? Harry knew he couldn't have read his mind because he was wearing the medallion. He couldn't have been that transparent, could he?

This brought Harry's thoughts back to Amanda, and he spent the rest of his climb to Gryffindor Tower thinking about the incredible day he'd had with her.

Their talks, the way she never let the conversation turn towards Voldemort, and the way she felt.

Oh, the incredible way she felt in his arms; the caress of her hands; the softness of her lips.

Harry was so distracted in the delight of thinking of her that even as he walked through the portrait hole and into the common room, he was blissfully ignorant of Ron and Hermione's calls to him.

He made it halfway up the stairs to the dorm room before Ron caught up to him, tugging at Harry's robes to get his attention.

"Oh, hello there Ron," Harry said with a half silly, half shocked look on his face. "How are you?"

"A lot better than you, mate. Hermione and I have been calling after you since you left Dumbledore on the fifth floor. Didn't you hear us?"

"Hear you?" Harry asked with a blank look. "Why would I hear you?"

"Harry," Hermione chimed in, "are you alright? You act like you don't even know where you are."

"Of course I know where I am. I'm at Hogwarts." He said with a silly grin. Something about saying this seemed to echo in Harry's head for a moment, when all of the sudden, the last past twenty seconds came flooding back to him.

The moment it finished playing out, Harry burst out laughing.

"He's bloody well lost it. Completely mental. Should we get McGonagall?"

"I'm fine, Ron," Harry replied, trying to recompose himself. "I'm just fine. I've just been a bit distracted since I got back to the castle, and I just realized… Oh never mind. It's too hard to explain."

"Only if you're trying to explain it to someone like Ronald over here," Hermione added in a snide tone.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" cried Ron as he turned to face her.

It was becoming an everyday occurrence for Harry to walk away from them as they began fighting, so why should this time be any different.

Ron came into the dorm room half an hour later, finding Harry already in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"What a flake. I mean, really. What was that all about back there?"

"How should I know? I've barely seen you two all day, and we were all supposed to be there together. What happened to you two?"

"Well, I didn't want to leave, but Parvati and Hermione thought you two needed some time alone, and that David chap sided with them, stupid git, so we all headed to Honeydukes, and then over to the park for a bit of R and R. We spent the rest of the day there, and then came back here for dinner. After that, we found out that nobody had seen you or Amanda, and that's when we were all asked to search the castle for you two, thank you very much. A perfectly good Saturday night wasted looking for someone who didn't want to be found. And by the way, where _were _you two anyway?"

Harry was too tired to go into the whole story, and he knew he'd have to repeat himself to Hermione in the morning, so he gave Ron a quick abridged version.

He was done in just over a minute, as to stop Ron from asking any stupidly embarrassing questions, he decided he needed to stop him before he got started.

"Well, any how, I don't know about you, but I've had a long day and we've both got a full day tomorrow, especially with Quidditch practice and all, and I've got to do class planning with Snape, and I've got duelling lessons with Dumbledore's, and… oh God, I've got to get to sleep."

Ron gave up after only a few failed attempts at goading Harry into talking. Harry guessed his day had been pretty long too because one moment he asked how good of a kisser Amanda was and the next, he was snoring.

Harry took a bit longer to fall asleep, as thoughts of his full schedule drifted through his mind. But never did they stay for long, as his thoughts always and quickly came back to his date with Amanda. With so much to do and so little time, Harry knew a day like this was not likely to come by again any time soon.

But until the next time, at least he had the memories of a date of fun, excitement, and a passion he'd never before felt with a woman before. And come to think of it, that's how he thought of Amanda, as a woman, not a girl. He'd never thought of Cho that way, but he couldn't imagine thinking of Amanda any other way.

And so once again Harry fell asleep, a huge smile across his face, dreaming of a magical date that would never end with a woman who'd shown him a world in such a short time that he never before knew, and together they explored possibilities he'd never have tried, but dared to dream.


	17. Chapter 17 All Work and No Play

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 17

All Work and No Play

If Harry thought his schedule was full enough before now, Sunday quickly showed him a new appreciation for what little free time he had left.

He began the day still basking in the memories of his Hogsmeade trip with Amanda. Ron and Hermione, who were actually being civil with each other for a change, followed closely behind him as he went over his date in more detail, and they in turn told him everything they had done.

Still, more of the conversation drew on Harry's day, as he seemed to have had the most pleasant of the three dates.

Well, I got to see some really neat magic-electric hybrids from Davie," Hermione said in a chipper voice. "Like that Palm Pilot of his. Absolutely amazing."

"But I thought no electronic devices can work at Hogwarts," Harry responded with a confused expression.

"They can't. But it's not really electronic. It's all magical, but put together to look like common Muggle electronics. They've got laptops, and Palm Pilots, and even some TVs. It's all really cool. I saw a few of them when I was on vacation with my parents, but I had no idea they weren't just normal electronics. I'm gonna ask Mum and Dad if they'll get me a magic PDA for Christmas."

"Cool," said Harry, though he wasn't quite sure what she was talking about.

"Come on now, Hermione. I want to hear more about Harry's date. How far did you get with her?"

WHAP!

And so ended the short-lived harmony between Ron and Hermione, and they spent the rest of the trip down to the Great Hall arguing the appropriateness of talking about whether or not Harry got to third base.

But Harry hadn't heard a word of it. His mind was elsewhere, thinking about how much fun it was to look into her eyes and see his own reflection there. He knew that he could talk with her for hours or just sit together in silence, enjoying each other's company, and both would be equally wonderful as the other and both better than anything he could remember doing.

"What in the world is going on out here?" came a sharp voice as they approached the doors of the Great Hall.

"Sorry," Harry said, snapping out of his daydream. "What's going on?"

"Not you, Mr. Potter. These two. You're supposed to be Prefects. What could possibly be so important that two Gryffindor Prefects find it necessary to yell so loud that I could hear you clear from the staff table?"

It was obvious that Professor McGonagall was not very happy with them and Harry had been on the backside of her speeches too many times.

He took a few short steps from them, waiting to see if McGonagall would object, and when she did not, he continued into the Great Hall for breakfast.

By the time Ron and Hermione joined him at the table, Harry was already done with his cereal and was halfway done with his cheese omelette.

They both sat down without saying a word to each other, though Hermione did remind Harry that they were due in Professor McGonagall's office at nine for Animagus training.

Harry's face showed his angst. "I'd forgotten all about that," he groaned loudly. "I haven't done my exercises since I got back to the castle.

"Neither have I," Ron agreed.

"Well, she did say it was mainly for practice. You did practice before school, right Harry?"

"Actually, before I got to school I was doing it every night before I went to bed. I've just been so tired, I plain forgot about it. Truthfully, I was looking forward to this next week cause I figured it would be easier. But now I've got this to add to my schedule..."

"Plus Occlumency lesson," Hermione reminded him.

Another loud groan, this one twice as loud.

"I won't see the light of day for the next eight months."

"Oh, come on Harry. It's not that bad. I mean, your first Quidditch game is only a week away, and then you won't have another for over two months," she added in an upbeat tone.

Another loud moan from Harry told her he'd forgotten about this too.

"Way to go, Hermione," Ron interjected. Why don't you just start talking to him about the prophecy while you're at it?"

That was it. Harry jumped from his seat, having lost any appetite he had left.

He was just walking out of the Great Hall when he ran head on into the exchange students, with Amanda right there at the back of the pack.

A sinking feeling hit the pit of his stomach. Amanda made him feel better than he'd ever felt before, but as he realized how busy he was going to be with his new schedule, he'd be lucky to see her outside of classes.

He smiled weekly as he passed the group, nodding to Amanda as she approached, and she fell back out of the group. As soon as they were far enough away, Amanda grabbed his hand and pulled him back out into the hallway, waiting no longer, and planted a great big kiss that caused the whole world to melt away.

They pulled away a few moments later, and the moment he looked into her eyes a deep sadness fell over his face.

"What's the matter," she asked, a frightened look on her face.

"Well, I've been thinking about my schedule. You see, I've got a lot to do, and with teaching Duelling, plus my other classes, Quidditch, Occlumency, Animagus training, and everything else, it just doesn't seem like I'm going to have any time for myself."

"Oh," she replied, a look of relief spreading over her face. "Is that all? I thought you were going to tell me that you didn't want to see me again or something."

"Oh no," Harry blurted out. "No. There's little else I want to do. It's just that I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me, you know, when I'm not going to be able to be around that much."

"Well that's okay. I mean, Professor Dave's given us a bit of relaxation time to get used to the school, but starting next Monday, we've all got a lot more work to be doing. I don't think I'm going to have much free time before dinner as it is, and even after I'll have a lot of homework to do."

Harry gave a loud sigh of relief. He'd been worried that she wouldn't like how busy he was going to be, and here she was going to tell him the same thing within the next week.

"Well, all I have to do on Monday and Thursday nights is grade papers. I guess we could do our homework together then, and maybe get to spend a few moments together then."

"And maybe we can find an hour on Saturdays when we can go outside for a little bit and relax," she added hopefully.

"I'm sure we can work something out. In fact, I'll bet Dobby would be happy to bring us something to eat, and we could just have lunch out under this one tree by the lake," he added, thinking about his Mum and Dad.

They talked for a few more minutes before the alarm on his watch told him that it was time for Animagus training.

She gave him a brief kiss goodbye, and with his spirits lifted, he headed to McGonagall's office.

Ron and Hermione were already sitting in chairs when Harry arrived.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said politely as he entered her office. "Please take a seat."

Harry took the third seat and sat quietly, suddenly having flashbacks of the previous year when he had sat here so many times, learning of the different punishments he was to incur because of Malfoy or Professor Umbridge. He could feel the scared feelings creeping back in.

"The first thing I would like to do before we begin your official training is to give you a copy of the Ministry guidelines for Animagus training. The Ministry has found that following those guidelines will help most witches and wizards to find their Animagus forms within one complete school year."

She handed them each a small parchment with an outline on the proper training techniques for becoming an Animagus. When each of them had finished reading, she continued.

"Now, you have each worked on the exercises I gave you?" she asked.

"Yes Ma'am," answered Hermione.

"Of course," lied Ron.

"No," answered Harry honestly. "I haven't had the time since I got back to school, but I did get some practice in before."

"Well, unless you used a lengthening spell, it looks like you have been able to grow your hair out, so all is not lost."

"I did," Harry answered enthusiastically, hoping he might avoid getting in trouble.

"Well, those exercises were only to help you get started, so I don't suppose there is too much time lost. However, from this point on I expect each task I give you to be done on schedule. You are three of the best candidates for Animagus training I have seen in many years and I expect you to take your training very seriously."

The three of them sat there, nodding their heads as though she had questioned their resolve.

"Very good. Now, as you will see on the outline, the first level to becoming an Animagus is extremely long and takes by far the most work to accomplish. The second and third levels are much easier and combined take less than a month to accomplish, yet your first level will take the better part of this school year. This level, of course, is to find you Animagus form."

"But we already chose our forms," Ron interrupted. "I'm going to be a wolf."

"Mr. Weasley, you do not choose your Animagus. Your Animagus chooses you."

"But you told us to..."

"I know exactly what I told you to do. However, the form you choose is not always what chooses you, and in your case I would have to say that the chances of you choosing correctly is somewhere between slim and none."

Ron made to interrupt McGonagall again, but she stopped him short.

"I do not mean to offend you, Mr. Weasley. Many people will choose one form and become another. I myself had chosen a falcon, but instead I found myself as a cat. Professor Dumbledore is quite the same. In fact, the only person here I expect to be even remotely close to the form he chooses is Mr. Potter here, and I don't expect it will be exactly as he thinks either."

"Oh great. Of course Harry gets to choose. He gets everything," Ron blurted out, then turned to Harry and said softly, "No offence mate."

"None taken," Harry said as he punched Ron in the shoulder.

"That will be quite enough. And if you really must know, the only reason I suspect that Mr. Potter has any real chance of finding his Animagus form before it finds him is because Serious once told me that when he, Peter, and James had chosen their forms, James was the only one who was close to being right. He had chosen the form of a stallion, and though they may not seem the same, as Animagus forms are concerned they are quick closely related. I expect that with proper training he would could very well have chosen his form, and Harry could very well follow in his father's footsteps."

"So what are we going to be doing today," asked Hermione, getting a bit impatient.

"Very good, Miss Granger. We must get on, as you two have quite busy days ahead of you," she added, looking at Harry and Ron.

"Today we are going to work on hair colour. I want to see how far you all have progressed. From there we will see if you are ready to begin working on length and girth. We will be working on your hair for the next two weeks, and then we will begin working on our fingers and toes."

And so their official training began.

And as Ron had pointed out, Harry seemed to have a big advantage over the rest of them. Although he was only able to change the colour of his hair by a few shades, he was able to grow his hair out with very little effort. McGonagall chalked this up to his history of Aunt Petunia cutting his hair.

She explained that this was how the first level of Animagus training worked. Any one step of training could take weeks or even months to accomplish, but once it's been learned it's simply becomes a matter of practice.

McGonagall finally allowed them to go on their way at ten thirty, which gave Harry just enough time to run on up to Charlie's office while Hermione was going to go to the library to meet Dave to do some research. Ron had mentioned that he was going to get ready for Quidditch Practice.

When Harry walked into the DADA class he found it completely empty, so he walked over to the office door and knocked.

"Come in, Harry," called Charlie from the other side.

Harry opened the door and walked inside. The room he saw was completely different from anything he had previously seen. Before, when Professor Lockhart had been there the room had been covered with portraits of himself. Lupin covered it with all types of books and boxes about different creatures. That was most like what he expected the office should look like. Moody kept all sorts of magical devices that could detect and protect him from evil magic while Umbridge had kept it very neat and clean.

But this was like nothing Harry had ever seen.

There were four tall pillars placed perfectly at the odd four pointes of the room, from the door being at Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest.

Quite like the ceiling in the Great Hall, the ceiling here showed a version of the night sky, but with two distinctive differences. For one, it covered not just the ceiling, but the whole room from top to bottom. For another, instead of the sky being black with white stars, it was a rainbow of mix-matching colours, as though the night sky's black had been colour-sprayed.

With no desk or chairs left in the room, Charlie was sitting with his legs crossed in the center of the room, eyes closed, humming softly to himself.

Harry was about to say hello when Charlie's eyes flew open. Without a word, he pulled out his wand, pointed to the pillar to Harry's left, and whispered _Alohomora_.

Harry turned to look only to find the pillar had split down the middle and opened, an empty shelf protruding from it.

"Please both place your wand and your medallion," he said with a knowing smile, "on the shelf there, then come join me on the floor."

Harry did as he was told, placing both in the center, then sitting just across from Charlie, crossing his legs in the same way he had at the park during the summer.

He sat patiently for ten minutes, waiting for some kind of instruction, but Charlie just sat there as though oblivious to Harry's presence.

As fifteen minutes approached, Harry began to wonder if he should be doing something and he had simply missed it.

Just before the twenty-minute mark, he finally decided to speak up, but he was interrupted before the first word escaped his mouth.

"I see we have developed into quite a smart young man, Harry," Charlie said, opening his eyes and looking proudly at him. "Most young men at your age would have asked me for guidance after less than a minute, yet your patience lasted a full eighteen minutes."

Harry just looked curiously back at him, and Charlie smiled.

"There are three elements to becoming a good Occlumens, Harry, and the first and most important is patience. Without patience, any raw talent is wasted. With patience comes wisdom, which is the second element a good Occlumens. It's quite similar to duelling in that manner. That is why you were able to so easily defeat Mr. Malfoy in your duel, and it's that same reason which will lead to your victory over Voldemort."

"But the duel with Malfoy was all but fixed. I knew exactly what he'd do before he did it, and it had nothing to do with patience or wisdom, but just knowing what kind of person Malfoy was and exploiting it, not that it wasn't fun or anything."

"That may be true, but if I heard correctly, you used two different defensive techniques in your duel, and each led to an extremely easy point. That is evidence of patience, as well as the last and strongest element of Occlumency, trust."

Harry had a quizzical look on his face. _Trust?_ he wondered. _But where can trust come from when Occlumency and Legilimency are all about invading someone's mind_.

"Legilimency is not just about reading someone's mind, nor is Occlumency only about blocking your mind from intrusion. They are about disciplining your mind, body, and soul. And to become a truly proficient Occlumens and Legilimens you must obtain a balance of all three. That is where your advantage over Voldemort comes. He is strong in body and mind, but his soul is weaker than ever, if there is indeed any soul left in him."

"So you know about the prophecy?" Harry asked, though he wasn't really surprised.

"Of course. Most of us in the Order know some of the details, though Dumbledore felt that I should be fully prepared to train you, so he informed me of some additional facts which few in the order are privy to. In fact, there are many things about you I know that even my parents are unaware of."

Harry began to go pale. He felt as though Charlie was about to drop another bombshell on him.

"Don't worry, Harry. I know no more than you do, and I have no news which will change your life, except perhaps for the knowledge of Legilimency and Occlumency which I am here to teach you. Which brings us back to the beginning. What we need to do first is open your mind as much as possible. It is only when we know what we are protecting can we fully understand how to do so."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"So, the first thing we are going to do, and it will seem quite fruitless in the beginning, is to teach you how not to think."

Harry's look of puzzlement must have been obvious because Charlie's smile grew quite large.

"What I mean by this, Harry, is that you must learn how to completely clear your mind of everything and anything, including the very thought of clearing your mind. Now, this probably sounds redundant until you see what I'm talking about, so let's try a little exercise."

Harry nodded his approval.

"I want you to take my hands. Then I want you to close your eyes but keep the picture of my face in your thoughts. Then, I want you to concentrate, listening to the silence of everything around you. Try hard not to think, but just to listen for the sound of my voice."

Harry did as he was told. He closed his eyes, still holding Charlie's hands, and concentrated on hearing his voice, but he heard nothing.

"Keep concentrating, Harry. Listen for my voice beyond the silence."

Harry kept his eyes closed, still concentrating, listening intently to the silence.

As time continued on the silence began to consume the room, and the background noise of the birds outside, the movement about the castle, all began to disappear, and another kind of silence took its place.

It was an odd kind of silence taking over the room. The quiet seemed to take on a life of its own, and somewhere deep in the background he could hear something that sounded like a voice chanting in the background. The more he concentrated on the silence the louder the chanting became.

Then, all of the sudden the voice zoomed towards him, and he knew at once who it was and what it was saying.

"Think of nothing. Think of nothing. Think of nothing." It was Charlie, chanting the same three words over and over, until finally he spoke out in another voice; one which now seemed quite odd.

"Congratulations, Harry."

Harry's eyes flew open, and for a moment he looked at Charlie in a new way, as though he had just learned a bit of very intimate knowledge about him. "Was that your thoughts?" Harry asked in a shocked tone.

"Indeed it was," he replied.

"But I thought Dumbledore said you couldn't just read a person's mind, but that it was more like swimming through memories."

"Normally that would be true, but things are not always as they seem, and there are things about magic that even Professor Dumbledore is still learning and the arts of Occlumency and Legilimency are some of the most mysterious."

"So you can read minds by using Legilimency?" said Harry with a look of marvel.

"Yes, and no. You see, being able to read one's mind is so extremely intrusive that less than a handful of wizards throughout the world are able and even fewer are willing. However, it is possible, with enough discipline, to give someone access to your conscious thoughts. But of course, there are some very strict restrictions to this process."

Harry listened intently, even leaning forward a few inches as Charlie continued.

"First, the subject having his mind read must know how to turn off all of his conscious defences because having someone enter your thoughts is quite a bit like walking into your home, only in this case you've got more than just a simple door holding intruders at bay. Your mind has set defences in place which are stronger than magic, if in the case of Muggles. If Voldemort were to pick up a Muggle off the street in London, starve and torture them until he told him anything that was asked, he would still have little to no chance of reading their thoughts. Of course, an accomplished Legilimens is able to direct their memories to get almost any information they wish, but they would not know what their victim was thinking at that moment."

"Okay," Harry said, though it sounded like a lot of double talk to him. He was sure he could figure it out later, or ask Hermione.

"The next requirement is that you have physical contact with the subject. Through physical contact, the energies of both participants begin to merge on a small level. And finally, the person whose thoughts are being read must will their thoughts to the front of their consciousness. If you don't will your thoughts then they are read only in small parts, as though looking at a puzzle with half of its pieces missing."

Harry nodded as he found at last something that began to make sense.

"Now, this all leads us back to my original statement. Though only some of your thoughts could be read, your memories are still quite free to be searched so long as you think of them. What you must learn is how to think of absolutely nothing. Now, if you were to try to search my memories and I was not prepared, you might be able to search at least one or two of my memories before I might be able to defend myself. However, if I were trying to invade your mind while you were actively working on blocking any attacks, even if I were unable to read your memories or emotions, I would still learn something very important about you."

"Because you would know I was blocking you," Harry replied. Now he could see what Charlie was talking about.

"Exactly. But if you train yourself not to think at all, to have no conscious or subconscious thoughts, then anyone trying to read you would come back with nothing at all. In that case, they are more likely to believe something other than you is blocking them, or else they might believe that their power is somehow failing them. But whichever it is, the idea that you are simply able to completely block them without trying is something they would not be willing to believe, and therefore would not believe."

"So how do you do it? How do you not think? I mean, I've tried blocking out my thoughts, but then I'm thinking about blocking, so that's still thinking."

"Right. And for the next few weeks, that's what we'll be working on for most of our time together, as well as building your basic Occlumency skills, which I might add seem to have come quite a bit further than I would have expected, seeing who trained you."

Harry found himself instinctively wanting to defend Snape, though he didn't know why and was able to stop himself before doing so, but it seemed Charlie had seen it coming.

"Don't get me wrong, Harry. Snape is an accomplished Occlumens, but he's not likely to win the title of Greatest Professor of All Time, though he's consistent enough in his own right. But add his distaste for you and I did not expect him to have made as much progress as he has. You've come quite far."

Harry sat up a bit more upright at the compliment.

"Now, what we've got to do is help you to learn how to fight back, and that's where these new exercises are going to make you a very dangerous man."

"Well, it's definitely a different type of training, I'll say that much," Harry replied.

"Well, a lot of that's because much of what I am going to teach you is known by very few people, Harry. To be honest, I had to get a great number of sanctions from different councils before I was permitted to teach you what I know."

"What councils?"

"Well, that's not important right now, but before the school year is out, if we progress as much as I hope, you will be coming with me to meet with two of them personally. But come now, let's work on clearing your mind."

They working on clearing Harry's thoughts until a little after noon, then headed down to lunch.

They talked about Quidditch all the way down to the Great Hall, and Charlie was just starting to give him a few hints when the walked in. He saw Ron and Hermione sitting at the table, apparently half way through their meal, and Harry decided he might as well eat with Charlie at the staff table.

After dropping by to tell them he'd see them after lunch, Harry spent the next forty minutes chatting with Charlie about Quidditch strategies and Charlie gave him some advice on how to be Captain without compromising himself in the process.

At ten minutes to one, Harry finally bid Charlie goodbye after being reminded that he'd be expected at the DADA office each Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday for the rest of the year.

Harry was already drained and the day was barely half over with Quidditch still to come, followed by duelling training with Dumbledore.

Harry landed on the Quidditch field a few minutes later, having flown over from the castle in order to make it there on time. The rest of the team was already there, ready for a rugged workout, and that was just what he had in mind.

"Alright team. Today we are going to work on pinch plays. I want one beater protecting Ron, and one working with me against him. Two chasers are going against you as well, Ron, with Ginny being your only offence. The idea here is to start working more in smaller groups. We work really well when we're all in a group, but that doesn't happen as much as we'd like and I have a feeling the Slytherins are going to do whatever they can to keep us apart. So let's run those drills for a good two hours and see how we're doing. Any questions? Good, let's go."

Ron had shown some honest signs of resentment towards Harry and his gruelling practice, even going as far as comparing him to one of his predecessors, Oliver Woods.

And Harry had to admit that the practice was pretty gruelling by any standards, but Charlie had made the suggestion and he agreed that it would definitely bring up their game. Everyone was going to be hindered, and just as duelling Dumbledore made duelling anyone else seem like child's play, so would practicing at such disadvantages now.

Harry would switch things up at different intervals, giving Ginny a partner and sending one of the other chasers off on their own. The Beaters would also periodically change positions, so that at the end of the day the only person who's place had not changed was Ron. True to form, Ron was seething by the end of the practice, although Harry was pretty sure that any retribution would not come for at least a week since it would likely take that long for Ron to get enough energy back to do anything.

Just as the sun began to go down, Harry decided to run one last drill before packing up for the day. It was a series of drills to sharpen their flying skills. Everyone lined up at one side of the Quidditch field. One by one they would mount their brooms and fly through a long series of glowing hoops. Three hoops would be illuminated in a bright neon-green at any one time and each time they went through one hoop it would disappear and the next one would illuminate someplace else. The goal was to go through each of the fifty hoops in quick succession, eventually getting their time down to three minutes or less.

Of course, it wasn't enough just to explain it to Harry, so he mounted his broom, gave his watch to Ron, and took off. The first twenty hoops were pretty well spaced and ran in a fairly smooth line so that even in turns it was not hard to find the next hoop. However, after Harry went through the eighteenth hoop he noticed that number twenty-one, which had just illuminated, had illuminated not in green, but instead it was a bright purple. When he finally got to this hoop he found that the turns were a bit tighter and the hoops were growing closer together. In addition, they began moving vertically, having one close to the ground, the next twenty feet higher and held at a ninety-degree angle so that Harry had to fly straight up in order to get through it.

But he was still making good time, he was sure, and when the colour changed again at the fortieth from purple to red, the hoops smaller this time and in very erratic positions, Harry was at least comforted by the fact that he was sure he had over a minute left.

But he never made it to forty-one.

Just as he approached the forty-first hoop, a blinding flash of light crossed right in front of him, engulfing him for a full five seconds. It had taken him by such a surprise that he lost his grip on his broom, rolled over, and fell.

He gripped for his broom, his nails biting into the wood of his Firebolt. Harry held on for dear life, but his broom was still flying at a very quick pace, and soon the strain was too great.

His fingers slipped.

The wind flew by his face as he whirled around, falling towards the ground, his speed increasing with every meter.

Harry jammed his hand into his pocket, searching wildly for his wand.

He was less than thirty meters from the ground when his fingers finally found their target. He gripped it hard and pulled, but something was stopping him from pulling it out.

He pulled harder, and finally he heard a ripping sound that told him the wand was at the wrong angle to be pulled out.

With only fifteen meters to go he turned his hand and freed his wand from his pocket, and pointed it down. He was just going to shout a spell when his decent suddenly began to slow. With a quick change of tactics he called out _Aqua Lacuna_ and dove straight into a large pool of water.

Harry swam to the bottom and tapped the base of the bubble with his wand. The bubble exploded and the water all fell around him.

As Harry stood up and began to dry himself off, he heard Hermione's voice screaming from the distance. He turned to see her running towards him, a look of horror giving way to relief.

"Harry, are you alright?" she said exasperatedly. "What happened?"

"I don't know. It was just like that time with Quirrell during my first year, only this time I was vertical, so I didn't have any way to get a good grip."

By this time the rest of the team had arrived; all but Ron. He showed up a few moments later on his broom holding a Hufflepuff cloak with Dudley in tow.

"Guess who I found," Ron said with a look of disgust on his face. "Bloody well tried to kill you. Say the word Harry and he'll be cleaning the Great Hall with his own toothbrush for the next year."

Harry stared at his cousin with a kind of contempt and anger that he'd never felt before. Sure, there had been times when his cousin had teased him or bullied him some, but he had never deliberately put his life in danger. A thousand different punishments went through his mind, none of them allowing Dudley to see the light of day before the new millennium. Finally, after staring at his cousin for more than a minute he looked over at Ron and said in a voice much more calm than he felt, "Let him go."

"Excuse me?" Ron shouted in disbelief. "Are you joking? He could have..."

"I know, Ron, and I'm not letting him off, but he's not going anywhere unless I say so, so let him go." Harry noticed the calm in his voice and he was truly scared of just how detached and composed he sounded.

"Ginny, if you could bring him to Professor Sprout and tell her what happened. And please let her know I'll be there in a few minutes to go over the specifics, I just want to clean up around here. And why don't you hold onto his wand until you get to Professor Sprout's office. She should just be coming back from dinner about now."

"You got it," Ginny said with a salute. She then pulled out her own wand while taking Dudley's with the other and walked him back towards the castle.

Harry waited until they were both well out of sight and sound, then abruptly turned and fired off a large lightning bolt at one of the remaining Bludgers which was flying about over their heads.

Everyone stepped back, afraid they might be future victims of Harry's fury.

After several moments passed, a few words came from Harry's direction, though the voice sounded very rough and hoarse.

"That will be all for today. We'll meet back here Wednesday. If you hurry, you might be able to get in before it gets dark. I'll clean up out here."

There was no offer or invitation for debate in his voice, and Ron and Hermione knew it, so they nodded to the rest of the team, including Ginny, who turned for the changing rooms before going back to the castle.

Ron and Hermione stood there for several minutes, letting Harry stand there and stare up at the afternoon sky as it began to cross over to dusk. Finally, after nearly five minutes of continued silence, Hermione stepped forward and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, are you alright?" she asked softly.

Harry remained silent, but she didn't need to hear it. She could feel him trembling beneath her hand, and there was no way for that to be anything but bad. Moreover, as she stood there looking at him from behind she could see the sides of his face, moist with fresh tears.

Without another word, Hermione put one arm around him while turning him around with her other and pulling him into a motherly embrace, and Harry fell softly into his friend's arms.

He only stayed there for a few moments before composing himself. He pulled himself away, straightened his cloak, and dried his face with his sleeve.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron bluntly.

"Nice Ron," Hermione chastised, shaking her head. "Real polite. You haven't got a sympathetic bone in you're entire body, do you?"

"What did I do? I just wanted to know… Oh, never mind. Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry just nodded and finished wiping the last of the tears of his face.

"You know," he said in a cool, monotone voice, "If Ginny hadn't taken him away, I don't know what I would've done to him. All I wanted to do was try every curse I knew on him, all at the same time. And what really buggers me is that if it weren't for me, he wouldn't be able to do magic. Now, not only is it my fault he's a Slyder, but I bloody well taught him everything he knows. Not to mention he nearly killed me, what happens when next time he does it to someone who can't help themselves. And how did I slow down like that in the first place?"

"That was me," Hermione answered. "I was coming out to tell you something and I saw you falling, so I cast _Wingardium Leviosa _on you to slow you down."

"Oh," Harry replied, then perked up for and asked, "What did you want to tell me?"

Hermione's eyes shot open wide. "Oh my, I forgot to tell you. With everything that's happened, I completely forgot."

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron moaned.

"Sorry. It's just; well… it's really big news."

"Out with it already," Ron exclaimed.

"Fine!" She shouted in response. "Harry, I found some more information on your Medallion. It's very important."

"What did you find?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Well, you know that there were originally four medallions, until Slytherin left the castle, taking his with him. Well, after he left the three remaining founders changed their medallions into keys."

"Keys?" Ron asked. "Keys for what?"

"Well, what do you guys know about The Tomb of Hogwarts?"

Coming Soon

Chapter 18

The Legend of the Tomb


	18. Chapter 18 The Legend of the Tomb

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 18

The Legend of the Tomb

"The what?" cried Ron.

"The Tomb of Hogwarts. It's a legend told to some of the first years to keep them from wandering too far out. We don't hear too much about it in Gryffindor, but most of the Hufflepuffs hear about it during their first year."

"Why's that," asked Harry.

"Because she left something in the tomb that's more powerful than any weapon known to wizard kind, or so they say. It's also rumoured that it was she that had hidden it and that she left clues to its location. But unfortunately, the only clue that has survived the centuries is that it's supposed to be tucked away somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds."

"Well duh," retorted Ron. "It's not called the Tomb of Hogwarts cause it's at Durmstrang."

"Anyhow," Hermione shouted over Ron, "I found it in the library, in the restricted area, but there's a catch."

"What's the catch?" asked Harry, his voice drained of energy.

"Well, there's only one page that goes over the tomb and it doesn't even cover much. The book itself is about Hogwarts in general. In fact, if I didn't know better I'd think it was a first edition of _Hogwarts, A History_, except that it looks like it was written at least three hundred years earlier."

"Okay. So what does the one page say?"

"Well, you'll have to see it. I'll meet you two in the library," she added, then turned and started running back for the castle.

Harry and Ron quickly gathered up the spare supplies, bagged the Bludger pieces which he would have to repair later, and ran back to the castle.

When they finally entered the Library a few minutes later, Hermione was sitting at the table with the book already opened and, to Ron's dismay, Davie was sitting right there next to her.

"Okay, we're here," he said dryly.

"Here it is," she said, turning to the next page.

The page itself caught Harry's attention immediately, though he hadn't even noticed the few small paragraphs at the bottom. Instead, he looked in amazement at the picture at the top.

There, drawn side by side, were four large pictures, three of which were bunched together, the fourth alone on the right. But it was the one in the middle of the group that caught Harry's eye. It looked very much like his medallion.

He pulled it out of his shirt and looked at it, comparing it to the picture. That confirmed it. It was a perfect match.

Harry forced his gaze down to the paragraphs at the bottom of the page and read.

Before they ever founded Hogwarts each of the founders forged a medallion, engraved with their own crests, and enchanted with magical properties which they felt best embodied each of their own personal talents.

Some have speculated as to what powers the medallions may hold, but there is one property that three of the medallions hold which has been confirmed by several Hogwarts Headmasters, though no explanation has ever been given as to how they know.

It was Headmaster Flubbles, Headmaster during the early fourteenth century, who said, "Some time after Salazar Slytherin departed from the school, the three remaining founders created something called the Tomb of Hogwarts and placed in it anything which they deemed too powerful to be accessible to their students. To this day, as remains true with the 'Chamber of Secrets,' no Tomb has ever been found."

While this does not confirm the Tomb's existence, it provides a name that was later referred to by other Headmasters, none of whom were able to confirm how to get there but have repeatedly stated their belief that it is there.

No other physical evidence has appeared since then, but it does beg the question, is there really a Tomb of Hogwarts, and if so, where is it?

"Okay, so it says that the medallions could open the Tomb, maybe, if there is one," Ron said bluntly. "But what else is there? Why did we have to see it written?"

"That's not what you had to see written. It's on the other page, here," Hermione replied, pointing to the next page.

At first Harry thought it was blank, but then Hermione moved her hand and he saw that there was a small bit of writing at the very bottom.

Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin. Medallions split up, Hufflepuff not seen since 1243,

Gryffindor medallion hidden or lost at Hogwarts 1609, never found.

Entrance in the Room of the universe --- No such room found - Not an entrance - Perhaps it holds a clue?

which contains

"What's that mean?" asked Harry. "And what's that say; the part crossed out?"

"Here, I'll show you," answered Hermione, pulling out her wand. "_Aperio"_

The words that were scratched through began glowing and the lines crossing them out began to fade.

"A room that holds the universe? What kind of rubbish is that?" scoffed Ron.

"Well, I'd think it was obvious," replied Hermione. "seeing as how you'd been there at least a couple dozen times last year."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Hermione, but…"

"Oh…" said Harry, eyes wide. "Of course. You'd have to know where it was, and still you'd have to know exactly what you're looking for. Ingenious. Absolutely ingenious."

"Would someone _please _tell me what's going on?" Ron exclaimed.

"Shh!" It was Madam Pince, coming around a bookshelf towards them. "If you don't keep it down over here, I'll have to ask you to leave. Really, Mrs. Granger. I'd expect you at the very least to respect our rules. And you, Professor Potter." She turned and headed back to her desk, all the while whispering to herself incoherently.

"Keep it down, Ronald," growled Hermione in a controlled tone.

"Chill out, Hermione," interrupted Davie. "You know how you get when you can't figure something out. Ron just hasn't seen it from the right perspective. Think of it this way, Ron. Where would you go if you searched everywhere else in the castle and still couldn't find something you really _needed_?"

"What I really need… oh. The Room of Requirement. Of course," Ron replied, laughing at himself.

"Exactly," replied Harry. "But what I don't get is what this other part's about, with the room not being an entrance but a clue?"

"It means that the entrance to the Tomb of Hogwarts won't be in the Room of Requirement, but it will probably tell you where it is."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Ron.

And that was all they needed. Davie stayed behind to write down the clues left in the book while the rest of the gang headed upstairs.

Ten minutes later Ron, Hermione, and Harry came around the fourth corner surrounding the Room of Requirement, concentrating on the Tomb of Hogwarts.

When they reached the door which would open to the Room of Requirement there came a collective gasp.

Each time they had used the Room of Requirement the door had looked the same as every other door in the castle. This time, however, there was a large, majestic looking door riddled with several gems of different colours which were patterned after the crests of the four Hogwarts Houses.

Hermione, being the first to recover herself, went to open the door, but it was locked. Smiling she pulled out her wand and called "_Alohomora_," but to no avail.

Ron also gave it a push, pull, knock, and finally a hard kick which sent him hopping around, shouting and screaming at his own stupidity.

Finally, Harry wanted to give it a try, but it turned out to be unnecessary. As he placed his hand on the door it quietly swung open as though opened by a soft gust of wind.

"I guess it will only open for someone wearing one of the medallions," said Hermione. "I wonder if the rest of us will even be able to..." She had no reason to finish her question since Ron had answered it by pushing his way past Harry and walking inside without incident.

Harry was the last to walk through, his gaze locked on the door. It held a familiarity for him that he could not quite explain. All he knew was that even though he'd never before seen this door, it felt like the door to his own home.

Finally, after several minutes passed, Harry walked inside. What he found was more incredible than he could have ever imagined.

The room was set in medieval times, with suits of armour much more majestic and regal than those throughout the castle. Upon each of the walls were three banners as large as those in the Great Hall, the two on the outside embroidered with the crest of one of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Between each couple was the third banner with crest of Hogwarts. The fourth wall was dedicated to the School itself.

There were golden cauldrons set in different places along with other personal items of each founder, as well as many other items one might expect to see inside a museum. Harry saw none of them. His eyes were locked on the far wall signifying the school.

There, in the centre of the wall, was a large silver and gold plaque. Slowly Harry wandered towards it, drawn to it as a moth to a flame. He approached the plaque carefully. It had a simple wooden back and with a silver shield mounted into it. Engraved within the shield was the Hogwarts crest, and below it were the names of Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor, each with a round slot above the name which mirrored each of the their medallions.

Harry's eyes stared fixedly at the slot in the middle which matched his own medallion, brushing over it with his fingers.

A sudden instinct overtook him and without a single conscious thought he grabbed hold of his medallion, ripping it from his neck, and with the palm of his hand he slapped it against the Ravenclaw emblem.

And then all was dark.

Harry opened his eyes, blinked twice, then closed them again and covered them with his hands. The bright light was overwhelming. He rubbed them a few times, then opened them once more. As his eyes began to adjust to the light he took a look around.

Wherever he was, he knew immediately that he was outside because he could feel the grass beneath him.

He got up, brushed himself off, and took a better look around. He knew immediately where he was, as he was staring at the Hogwarts lake, with the Forbidden Forest beyond and trailing off to the left.

But this wasn't the Forbidden Forest he knew. It was brighter somehow, younger and more full of life. There were more birds flying about, rabbits hopping around everywhere, and even a few deer off by the lake.

Harry smiled at the pleasant view, then turned to look back towards the castle. It was gone.

_Where's the castle? _Harry asked himself. _Where's the Quidditch field? The Herbology gardens. HAGRID'S HUT! _

"They haven't been built yet," came a calming voice from behind him.

Harry jumped at the sound of another person's voice. He swung around to find the owner of that soothing voice.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, wide-eyed and astonished.

"Not exactly, Harry. I'm an imprinted guide, instilled in the medallion. I'm here to show you how it all began."

"How what began?" Harry asked.

"Hogwarts. You look over where the castle should be and find nothing, and you wish to know why. The answer approaches from the lake."

Harry looked towards the lake, searching for his answer. He found it in the form two wizards and two witches, all walking in his direction on what should have been the path to Hogsmeade, though it too was gone.

Time seemed to fade in and out, because a walk that should have taken the visitors half an hour seemed to take mere moments.

Suddenly they were upon him, and as they approached he suddenly came to realize what had happened. He'd seen them before, during the first dream in which he found himself in that mysterious room he now knew was the Tomb of Hogwarts. These were the four founders of Hogwarts; Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw in front, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor behind.

He made to say hello when they abruptly turned and headed for the future resting place of the castle.

"Can they see me?" Harry asked.

"They cannot. This is not real, but a series of specific memories, slightly altered so as to tell the story of the Tomb of Hogwarts, and it begins here, with the creation of the castle. Look," Dumbledore said, pointing to the founders.

They were looking about, pointing in different directions and doing what Harry could only guess was planning the outline of the school.

But the sun was already well beyond the noon hour and Harry knew that the school was built over several months, so they were not going to be sleeping there quite yet. And indeed, after just an hour or so of planning, the team moved over towards the forest, right in the same area as Hagrid's Hut, and began to wave their wands about.

The earth beneath them began to move, rising slowly at first, then faster as a light glow overtook the area. In half an hour's time there stood a large stone mound, ten feet high and forty feet wide.

They spent the next few hours customizing the mound in their own image, making it their own little home away from home.

"Shall we join them, Harry?" asked Dumbledore politely.

"Sure," Harry replied, though he didn't believe he really had a choice.

Dumbledore waved his hand, and as he did so the entire landscape began to blur until nothing was visible except himself and Harry, and then just as quickly things began to come back into focus.

When things had settled, Harry found himself in the very same room that had revisited his dreams so often over the past several months. The difference, however, was that everything looked somehow more energetic, and where once only a few simple items lay in the niches, now there were many different items including books, quills and parchment, cauldrons, owl cages hanging from above, and a box in each niche that Harry recognized as wand boxes.

Turning around he found that the room he was in appeared to be the common room for them, with the marble table left as a kind of combination tea table and dining table.

But what caught Harry's eye was across the room where he saw, for the first time, that while the centre door remained closed, all four outer doors were open.

"Be my guest, Harry, but be swift," said Dumbledore, reading Harry's mind. "Our time is limited and we have much left to see."

Harry walked quickly around the table and through the door on the far right side.

Harry could guess quite easily who this room was for, as there were two large beds along the far wall, one in blue and gold, the other in bright yellow. One trunk was at the end of each bed, each with its owner's crest on top, and a large dresser for each of them on opposite sides of the room.

As he was short on time, Harry stayed only a few moments, looking around in awe at the living quarters of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They were simple quarters, but then, they were more simple times.

There was a door at the left side of the room which was open, so Harry walked on through to the next room.

This room was immediately identifiable to Harry, especially with his escort, since it was the real Dumbledore who had described the room to him a few weeks earlier. It was the library from which Dumbledore had learned of the four medallions, which raised a very important question.

"Excuse me," he said, looking up at the imitation Dumbledore. "This is the Tomb of Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"Indeed. And you are wondering why it is referred to as a tomb when it is obviously anything but."

"Well, yeah."

"You will find out soon enough, but if you wish to continue exploring you should make haste, for we have a great deal left to cover."

Harry nodded. For some reason, no matter what thoughts or questions crept into his head, the moment Dumbledore would mention time, Harry felt extremely rushed to finish, as though he too knew what was to come next.

And so he spent little time in the library and instead headed out the front door, past the exit, and through the fourth door.

This room was empty except for a single table in the centre of the room and five banners spread around the room, one for each house and one with the Hogwarts Crest.

When Harry approached the table he found on top of it a model of the Hogwarts grounds more closely matched to how he knew them. The castle was there, as well as a smaller version of Hogsmeade, and the small house which he was in that would one day be replaced by Hagrid's hut, and of course there was no Quidditch pitch since the sport was nothing more than a backyard game at the time.

"Time is drawing short," said Dumbledore.

Harry nodded, headed out of the room quickly, and assuming what would be in the last room, merely peered through the doorway. As he figured, this was a virtual mirror of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's bedroom, except of course that this one was decorated according to Gryffindor and Slytherin's taste. He didn't feel any need to look about this room.

"Come, there is more to see," said Dumbledore as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

Again the world seemed to blur out of place, and then come back into focus. When things were clear again, Harry found himself inside the Great Hall looking upon a large crowd that was bunched up and bent over near the front of the room.

Harry approached cautiously, and as he approached their voices became more clear.

"How did this happen?" came the strong voice of Godric Gryffindor.

"Well, sir, Henry had found this potion and was showing it about when Valmont dared him to drink it. You know Henry, sir, so he opened it and was about to drink when Challet knocked into him and caused Henry to drop it on Valmont. So then Valmont began going into convulsions, turned all sorts of different colours, grew hair all over his body, and then he just fell down."

"I see," said a squeaking, high-pitched voice.

"Madam Hufflepuff," replied Godric, "is there anything you can do for him?"

Helga Hufflepuff bent down and looked at the young boy lying on the ground. After a few moments of inspection she looked up wearing a frown, a tear falling from her face. The answer was clear.

Again things faded and cleared, this time bringing Harry to the Headmaster's office in the middle of what seemed to be a heated argument.

"This is exactly why we need to be more selective of whom we teach magic to," said Salazar Slytherin. "Were that child of pure lineage, young Valmont would still be alive. Instead, he has become the first of what I expect to be many casualties of half-blood foolish mistakes. We can not afford to allow them to remain at the school."

"Do you really think that it was because he was a half-blood?" asked Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Be reasonable Salazar. Any student could have made such a mistake. They are children, and children are naturally curious."

"But curiosity has its limits, and there comes a time when youth is no excuse for those kinds of mistakes, and a child who grew up in our world would have more respect for these kinds of things. And frankly, I've never understood your fetish for these half-bloods and Muggle-borns. They flaunt the gifts as though they've earned them, and all the while they cause disruption and chaos wherever they go, and young wizards and witches pay for their mistakes."

"I disagree, Salazar," replied Godric. "But even if you're right, that's all the more reason to teach them, if only to give them the respect for magic you speak of."

"They don't need to be taught, they need to be eliminated," shouted Salazar angrily. "They don't deserve what they're given, and if you insist on teaching them, you will have to do it without me!"

"Salazar," cried Helga. "We don't want you to go. You're as much a part of this school as anyone. Please, be reasonable. Maybe you have a point here. Maybe we need to be more careful with the magical items we make accessible to our students."

"It's not the magic that's dangerous, it's those _Mudbloods _that come in here and abuse…"

"I WILL NOT HAVE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE USED IN MY PRESENCE!" shouted Helga at the top of her lungs.

"And I will not participate in this discussion any longer. We vote now. All those in favour of expelling every one of those rotten Mudbloods and Muggle-borns?"

Silence.

"Very well. I guess I've lost by default, and so have you, I promise," he added, complete revulsion in his voice.

And without further notice, Salazar Disapparated away.

"That was the last time Salazar was ever seen at Hogwarts by witch or wizard," commented Dumbledore. "But I digress, there is yet more to be seen here."

Harry looked back at the three remaining founders who all wore looks of worry and sadness, none so much as Godric Gryffindor. But quickly his look turned from sadness to resolve as he lifted his head to speak again.

"It is how you predicted, Rowena, though I had truly hoped you were wrong. Still, things must continue and we still have a very important issue at hand."

For the first time since he had begun watching, Rowena Ravenclaw spoke, and it was then that he understood just how powerful a woman she was, for her voice echoed with the same calm power that Dumbledore's held, if not more mystic.

"Indeed. The Holiday season approaches, so I might suggest we take this opportunity to make some amendments to the school. I believe Mr. Dracoons is willing to act in Salazar's place as Head of House. Furthermore, as Helga pointed out, we should take the opportunity presented by the Holidays to secure those things we own which are too dangerous to be found by youthful hands."

There was no questioning her, only pondering her statements before implementation. After a few moments, Helga posed the question to which Harry was unknowingly asking himself.

"Where are we to place these items?" she asked solemnly.

"We should bring them home, and once there we should hide it from prying eyes, locking it with that which binds us together."

"The medallions," answered Godric, then added with a nod, "And that would allow each of us access through our medallions."

"Perhaps not. I suggest we provide a door from this room which would lead to one of the rooms to the house. We could easily enchant the door so that only the Headmaster of the school could pass through it, and even then we could protect the contents by limiting access with the destiny spell. It would take all three of us to pull it off, but the house's location would remain in tact and only when the three medallions are brought together could someone unlock the house. This is how I have foreseen it, and I feel in my heart that if we do not, many dark wizards and witches would seek it out in search of our treasures."

"So, when you say we bury it you mean to do so literally," Hufflepuff said, a brief smile crossing her face. "We should be turning our old home into a tomb of sorts."

"Indeed. The Tomb of Hogwarts, if you will. We shall each take our deepest and most powerful magical items and place them inside, and additionally leave instructions for all our successors to do the same. We could make ready the model room for such additions."

"But we would have to protect such a place with more than some basic spells," offered Godric. "After all, any spell can be broken if given enough time. We should protect it with life as well as magic."

"I'm afraid I understand what you mean, Godric. But we must think hard before we make such a decision, for to do so would anger some of our allies."

"And I'm afraid that we haven't much choice. You know we must do so. All we can do is warn the centaurs before we do so and hope that they are understanding to our cause."

"Harry?" came Dumbledore's voice behind him.

Harry jumped at the sound of his headmaster's voice. He'd nearly forgotten that Dumbledore was there. As soon as his heart slowed back down, he turned to his headmaster.

"Yes sir?" he replied hoarsely.

"It is time we return. There are still things I must explain, and I have little time left to do so."

"Yes sir. But, if I may ask, why is there such a rush? I mean, this is just a series of memories, right?"

"It is, but it is also much more. And because it is more, the spells that are bound in that medallion left little for my impression, and as such the spell deteriorates, and it is nearly done. Come, there is one last thing I must show you before our time is up."

Harry nodded, and as he did so the world once again faded and refocused, this time bringing him back to the Tomb as he knew it, where his dreams had first begun. But this time, as he looked around he found that the doorway in the middle was now the only one open.

"I have two final things to tell you before you walk through there, Harry," he said, pointing to the door. "Though you will find many answers to your questions in the diary inside the niche, do not overlook the books in the library, as one of them holds the secret to the Dark Wizard's power as well as his greatest weakness, though I cannot tell you which one, for unfortunately, I do not know. And lastly, once you awake you will find a map mounted on the Hogwarts wall. Place the medallion on that map and it will show where to find the other two medallions. Bring them together, Harry, and you will find your destiny."

And with those parting words, Dumbledore began to softly change, as though he had taken a Polyjuice potion, and one after the other became first Godric Gryffindor who gave him a brave, knowing smile, then Helga Hufflepuff who's gentle smile warmed Harry's heart, and finally to Rowena Ravenclaw who spoke softly to him.

"I have seen you in my visions, Harry, and it is for you that I have selected a few precious memories which I have imprinted within my medallion; one which I now pass on to you as the last of my bloodline. Remember to keep it with you, for it will protect you in your darkest hour. And when your the time comes, please tell the Unicorn that we are with him, as we are with you. Go now, and may the magic of life protect you."

And with that, she smiled softly and faded away, quickly followed by everything else, and then all was dark once more.

Harry found himself lying on the floor of the Room of Requirement, his three friends bent over him.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Hermione. "You took a nasty fall there."

Harry began brushing his hands through his hair and found a small knot on the back of his head.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine in a few minutes," he replied hoarsely.

"What happened, Harry?" asked Davie.

"Don't rush him," Ron interrupted defensively. "He'll tell you when he's good and ready."

"It's all right Ron. It's better I tell you now while it's still fresh in my head."

With rapt attention all around, Harry went into a brief rundown of his dream. When he was done, both Ron and Davie seemed excited, but Hermione wore a much more serious look.

"I don't like it, Harry. For all we know, this could be a trap set up by Voldemort. There's no way we can be sure that he didn't set this whole thing up."

"He didn't," replied Harry simply. He wasn't sure why, but there was no doubt in his mind that the last thing Voldemort ever wanted was for him to find the Tomb of Hogwarts.

"Well, there's the map up there," pointed Ron. "How do you explain that? That had to have been made by the founders, so there's your proof."

"Unless it was set-up by Slytherin, in which case Voldemort could have easily learned about it and is... Harry! Don't!" she cried, but it was too late.

While Hermione was ranting to Ron, Harry had picked up the medallion and walked over to the map. By the time she had called out, Harry had already placed the medallion on the map. Immediately, three bright points of light, one royal blue and one a brilliant red positioned right next to each other, a third one of a bright neon yellow located on the other side of the map.

"Harry. You shouldn't have done that. It could have been very dangerous."

"Hermione, think about what we already know. There's going to be a huge battle between me and Voldemort and one of us is going to be killed by the other. Therefore, excluding anything ridiculously stupid, there's not a whole lot that's likely to kill me, now is there? Besides, I've just got this feeling that everything I saw was real. I can't explain it, but I know what I saw."

"Well, I know what I see, and I've got news for you," interrupted Davie. "If you guys are going to get all four medallions, it looks like you're going to be heading to California."

"Excuse me?" asked Ron in an insulted tone.

"Right there. See, the bright yellow dot. That's on the west coast of the good old US of A; California if you ask me."

"Well, we didn't," Ron spat back.

SMACK! Hermione had landed another loud slap against Ron's shoulder, this one echoing throughout the room.

"Geezes, Hermione. Give me a break. One of these days you're going to knock my arm off."

"And you'll well deserve it," she replied with a sneer.

"All right, all right. Do I need to pull rank on you two? Give it a rest already. The question is, how do we get the third medallion when it's clear across on the other side of the world?"

"Well, we could do it on winter holiday," replied Ron, still rubbing his arm.

"Right. And I'm sure there's just going to be signs posted on every street corner of that bloody country telling us exactly where it is," said Hermione sarcastically.

"Hermione," Davie said softly.

Hermione's eyes changed from angry at Ron to imploring with Davie.

"Look," interjected Harry, "we've got several months before the holidays, so let's start looking for the Gryffindor medallion. As best I can tell the Gryffindor medallion is either here at Hogwarts or, at the furthest, at Hogsmeade. Let's start looking for that one first. We can worry about the other one later."

"Do you think you should tell Dumbledore about your vision?" asked Hermione. "He might be able to help."

"Dumbledore! I was supposed to meet him for practice almost an hour ago," cried Harry checking his watch. "I'll talk to you guys later."

And before anyone could even say goodbye, Harry had run out of the Room of Requirement, straight to the staircase, and down to his Duelling class to find Dumbledore in his office, standing in front of one of his display cases and admiring its contents.

"Sorry… I'm late… Sir," gasped Harry.

"Do not fret over it Harry. I'm sure you've had quite a long day. In fact, I was going to ask if you would be up to practicing today after what happened at the Quidditch field."

"The Quidditch field? I'm not sure what you…" Harry's eyes went wide. _Dudley_. "Oh no. I forgot to go see Professor Sprout."

"Indeed. No matter. Professor Sprout has provided him with two weeks of detention assisting Mr. Filch with his cleaning duties."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry replied, obviously relieved.

"It's understandable for you to feel a bit overwhelmed Harry. It will take some time to get used to having such a full schedule, but I have confidence that you will find your own pace soon enough. And if I may make a suggestion of my own it would be to remember that you allocate specific times for your duties and specific times for your recreation. I've even been known to put a few hours a day aside for some rest and relaxation."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Harry replied approvingly.

"Very good. However, now is not that time and we do have quite a bit to cover today, so let's get started.

Five hours later an exhausted Harry tucked himself into bed. After three hours with Dumbledore and another two going over class plans with Professor Snape, Harry was ready to just curl up and fall fast asleep.

Ron came in a few minutes after Harry was lying in bed and asked him if he'd like to play a game of Exploding Snap, which Harry declined with a groan.

Harry was so tired he had barely made it into his night clothes and he knew there was no chance of any fun tonight. The only thing he wanted was sleep and he knew that would come soon enough.

And so he lay down in bed, fingering his medallion and thinking back to his vision of the Hogwarts founders. He remembered the confident look Rowena Ravenclaw had when she looked at him and he thought to himself, _I hope I live up to your expectations_.

And then he thought no more, but fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of a mysterious place the Founders once called home and which he now called The Tomb of Hogwarts.

Coming Soon

Chapter 19

Title, unknown :P


	19. Chapter 19 Harry's Big Surprise

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 19

Harry's Big Surprise

Harry woke up early Monday morning and was dressed, finished with breakfast, and had been sitting at his desk for over half an hour when Ron walked through the door still looking both tired and not the least bit happy.

"Where the bloody heck have you been?" Ron cried. "Hermione and I have been searching the whole school looking for you."

"Why?" Harry asked mildly. "What's up?"

"What's up? You're missing is what's up. Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to. And here I thought I could just walk around the school like any other Professor without having to report it to you first."

"Well..." replied Ron, suddenly at a loss for words. "It's just that as long as we've been back at school you've never been up before me, and when you weren't in your bed when I woke up I asked Hermione if she knew where you were, but she didn't know either. Then she went on about that whole thing with the medallion yesterday and, well, we were worried."

"Well you don't need to worry any more. You've found me alive and well, or at least alive, so you can go tell Hermione that I'm alright."

"There's no need, Harry," said Hermione's as she walked through the office door. "And I'm sorry if I got things blown out of proportion, but I was really worried about you. You didn't say anything to us after you came back from your training with Dumbledore and frankly you didn't even seem yourself after you woke up from that vision."

"I'm alright, Hermione. Trust me, if there were anything wrong, you'd be the first to know. But right now, I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a few more papers to grade, plus an hour of meditation, and that's all before my first class, plus I've got to plan the Quidditch practice for tonight. And Ron, I need you to let the rest of the team know that I want them there at four o'clock sharp. I don't care if it's clear outside or raining cats and dogs, I expect a full three hours of practice every day from now through Thursday."

"Okay. But, well, don't you think you're spreading yourself a bit thin, Harry? I mean, it sounds to me like you've got a schedule even Hermione wouldn't touch in her heyday."

Harry took a deep breath. The truth was he was working as fast and hard as he could just so he wouldn't think about how much he had to do. There were still more things he had to think about that he wouldn't share with his closest friends if he didn't need to, but still, it couldn't hurt to delegate a few things if he could.

"You know what, Ron, you're right. As of right now you're my Deputy Captain for the Quidditch team. I want you to schedule the practices and come up with a game plan on how we're going to beat Slytherin. Then, I want you to meet me at the Owlery at three o'clock. We'll go over our strategies then while getting a quick look at how the Slytherin team is looking this year."

"Yes sir," Ron said with a mock salute, though Harry knew Ron would take the job seriously. There were few things that Ron took more seriously than Quidditch and he would do his best to make sure they kept hold of the Quidditch Cup.

"Well, I've got a lot of stuff to do over the next hour and a half before my first class," Harry added, looking at the papers on his desk.

"Okay. Well Hermione and I should really go downstairs and grab a bite to eat before all the first years are up, so I guess we'll see you for Apparation."

Harry nodded to them and went back to work. He finished grading the papers in just under fifteen minutes and had just enough time to do a full hour's Occlumency Meditation.

Charlie had given him a small diary style book outlining some of the basics of the proper Meditation. He opened it to the first Monday and read the directions. Today he was supposed to work on something called _Blank Thinking_ which turned out to be the same exercises that Charlie had gone over with him the previous day.

He tapped the desk, dropping it down just as he had in the main classroom, sat legs crossed on the floor, and closed his eyes.

For an hour he tried blanking his mind, concentrating on not thinking, and he quickly found that Charlie was right. This was one thing that was going to take a lot of practice. Still, he had to keep working, and so he sat there for the full hour, mentally reprimanding himself for any thought he had, then reprimanding himself again for thinking too much about his reprimands. By the time the hour was up Harry felt that the only thing he had accomplished was a giving himself a major headache, and that's what he wrote in the Diary.

To his astonishment, the moment he lifted his quill from the diary, new words appeared.

A headache is a reminder that you are thinking too much. Think less, and think less about thinking less. Do not punish yourself for your thoughts. Simply stop having them.

Harry was startled to see the words appear on the diary, just as they had four years ago in another diary.

He jumped to his feet and ran for the door when he heard something fall behind him. Falling lightly to the floor was a single piece of parchment.

He walked over and quickly picked it up, inspecting both sides. On one side was a simple note that put his heart at ease.

Dear Harry,

I hope this diary helps you with your exercises. It will give you a full weekly outline on what you should do on a weekly basis and amends itself according to your responses. And do not fret if it writes back to you. A very ingenious group of witches created that diary and charmed it with one of a couple hundred different suggestions based on what you write.

Enjoy the Dairy and I'll see you in a few days.

Charlie.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Harry raised his desk, put the note and the diary into the top drawer, and headed out to the main room where Snape was already preparing for the start of class.

The rest of the day went on without incident and at three o'clock he was up in the Owlery, looking out over the Quidditch pitch as the Slytherin team was working on their second hour of practice.

Harry was only there for a few minutes when Ron arrived, a long roll of parchment in his hands.

"Why did you want to meet here?" Ron asked.

"Take a look," Harry replied with a smile.

Ron took a quick look out the window and it didn't take long for him to figure it out.

"Oh. You know, that's a bit sneaky for a Deputy Professor. Are you sure you're not being a bad influence on us?" he added with a smile.

"Are you kidding? It was your brothers that suggested it to me, and from what I've heard we need to watch as much as possible."

"Why's that?" Ron asked in a worrisome tone.

"Slytherin's got a new Chaser and she's supposed to have the fastest Cleansweep ever made. It's not even supposed to be on the market for another year and a half because the enchantments are taking so long, but her Dad helped develop it so she got the final test broom to use at school. But I've got a plan."

"What's that?"

"Oh, it's a surprise, but don't worry, I think you'll like it. Right now we need to watch how they work as a team and find out where their weaknesses are."

They spent the next thirty minutes watching the Slytherin team as they practiced and it only took a few minutes for Harry to find out which one was the new Chaser. One broom blew by the others, even Malfoy's and at one time Harry could swear he saw her intercept the Quaffle, swoop down and catch the Snitch, and then pull up and toss the Snitch to Malfoy with one hand and toss the Quaffle through the centre hoop with the other.

Harry had to admit that she was pretty good, and there was no way that his Firebolt was going to hold up to her broom, but it didn't need to. He had a surprise in store for the team and he was going to ensure that they kept the cup this year. But he was a bit concerned about whether or not he'd have enough time to prepare the team on Friday. He looked over to Ron.

"Okay, before we get going on strategy I want to tell you something, but you can't ask me any questions, you've just got to trust me."

"Okay," Ron replied without much conviction.

"I mean it. No questions."

"Alright. I won't ask a thing," Ron shouted back.

"I've given the Slytherin team our Friday practice time in exchange for the whole day on Wednesday ,"

"_You've what?_" Ron cried out.

"Hold on. I've given them our Friday so we can have all day Wednesday because I've got something else planned for Friday. Everything's already been set and I've even talked to Professor McGonagall who said we could practice until 10 o'clock on Wednesday."

"You've lost it. You've completely lost it. Are you honestly telling me that you traded away the best day for practice, the day before the game, just so we could practice all day Wednesday? You've gone mad."

"Maybe," said Harry with a smile. "But I've got something planned that will make everything else seem insignificant. But that's why I need your help for tonight, tomorrow, and especially on Wednesday."

"But why did you..."

"I told you not to ask. For heaven's sake, just trust me."

Ron shook his head in disbelieve but said nothing more, and after a few more moments of silence they began to talk strategy.

Ron had several good ideas for practice but they were regularly interrupted by his not-too-subtle hints that his original plan had called for all five days of practice instead of four. Harry did his best to ignore it and continue on.

Finally, with five minutes before practice was scheduled, Harry summoned his and Ron's brooms. Since they were not far away, it took less than a minute for them to arrive.

"You go down first and get the team prepped for practice," Harry said, giving Ron his broom. "I'll be down there in a few minutes."

"Right," Ron replied, shaking his head, confused.

After Ron was a good distance away, Harry pulled a small mirror from his robe and called his Godfather, not Remus, but Sirius. After a few moments the living room at Grimmauld Place came into view and Sirius was right there in his portrait, smiling grandly back at Harry.

"Hello Harry. How have you been?"

"Good," he said without much sincerity.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Sirius asked in a solemn tone.

"I just didn't realize that things were going to be so hard. I'm barely starting my fourth week back at school and I feel like I've done more than I did during the entire Tri-wizard Tournament."

"Well, give it time. You'll find your pace soon enough and then things will seem much more simple, trust me."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Well, there is one thing you could do, if you would, to help me out."

"Anything." Sirius responded without a second's delay.

"Are you able to, well, make purchases and stuff?" Harry asked warily.

"You mean because I'm no longer alive?" replied Sirius bluntly.

"Yeah," Harry replied, ashamed he had asked.

"Of course. It's actually not that uncommon for wizarding families to have us portraits make purchases for them. It's faster than using owls and there's less chance of the order getting messed up. There's also the added benefit of having someone to negotiate," he added with a wink.

"Good," Harry replied with a grateful sigh. He quickly rattled off his order and told Sirius his idea. When he was finally done, Sirius looked truly astonished.

"Harry. I can't believe you would think of such a thing. That's not at all like you," he responded, obviously taken aback.

Harry cringed, ashamed.

"If your father was alive today," Sirius continued, "He never would have tried anything like that. If he were around today I imagine he'd only have two words for you. Bloody brilliant!" he applauded, laughing out loud.

Harry's eyes shot open in shock, then relaxed into one of relief and amusement.

"So you'll do it then?" asked Harry.

"I can't imagine a Galleon being put to better use than the downfall of Slytherin House. I just wish I could get a picture of Snape when he sees what you've done."

"Well, I've still got my Omnioculars, so I'll see if I can talk Hermione into using them to take a picture. In fact, I think I'd like to get a picture of Malfoy too while I'm at it."

"Well, if we're going to do this then I've got to run. I've got some old friends to see to get this set up. If we're lucky they should arrive no later than Thursday, but I'll see if I can get them sooner. Oh, and if you're going to try to reach Remus I'd suggest you do it soon. I heard something about him going on a mission for the Order some time this week."

Harry nodded.

"I'll try him right now," Harry replied in a rushed voice.

"Just be careful, and do see about getting that picture from Hermione. I'll try to reach you after everything's done."

"Right. See you then," Harry replied quickly.

A moment later, Sirius was gone, and after a few more words he was replaced by Remus.

"Well hello, Harry. How are things going at school?"

"Good," Harry replied, not wanting repeat his earlier discussion.

"Good. Well, I'd love to chat for a while but I've got a little errand to run for the Order and I've got to meet up with my brother. He's going to be helping me out a bit, where he can. But if there's something you need, I'll see what I can do."

"Well actually there is one thing I was hoping you might be able to help me with, if it's even possible, and with a little luck you might be able to do it before you meet up with Romulous."

"What can I do?" Remus asked.

Harry repeated his plan to his godfather and got virtually the same response as he had from his previous godfather, only better.

"I don't think that will be a problem. I'll be seeing Dumbledore just before I meet up with Rom so I'll ask him about it then and let you know what he says, but I don't think he'll object. And if he does, I'll just remind him of Mr. Malfoy's investment into the team a few years back, but I don't think it'll be needed. But if I'm going to go, I'd better do so now."

"Right then. I'll talk to you tonight?" replied Harry.

"Tonight it is. I'll see you then," he replied before fading from his mirror.

He rolled up the parchment and called down Hedwig. As he looked up for her he noticed that the Owlery was a bit more empty than usual, but that was probably just because most of the parents were a bit more paranoid than usual about their kids with all of the Death Eater activity.

After a few moments Hedwig appeared, coming to a soft landing on the ledge next to Harry. He gave her a couple of small treats from the bin, patted her on the head a few times and tickled her under her chin, then attached the letter to her leg and sent her on her way. With a little luck he hoped he just might get a reply from Remus before the end of the day.

He then quickly mounted his own broom, climbed out on the ledge, and headed off towards the Quidditch field.

When he reached the pitch he found his team already dressed in their team robes and standing around Ron who was going over the practice schedule that he and Ron had gone over.

"Well, it looks like Ron's already covered the basics, so unless there's any questions, lets get going."

Everyone began to mount their brooms, but Harry stopped them, looking over at the one team member who had not moved at all, but seemed intent on staring at the ground.

"Yes, Jack?" Harry asked.

He looked up, apparently concerned that what he had to say might get him in trouble.

"Well, I don't want to make any trouble or anything, but we all voted together to make you team captain and, well now-"

"And now you're afraid that I'm passing that job onto Ron because of everything else I'm doing, is that about it?"

"Well, yeah," he replied guiltily.

"Don't worry. I'm honoured that you guys voted me Team Captain and I plan on keeping the job. It's just that with being the Deputy Professor of the Duelling Class I knew I'd need some help and I doubt there's a single person at Hogwarts who knows Quidditch better than Ron. If you, if all of you trusted me to captain this team then you should trust me to do what's best, and in this case I think that's what I've done."

It was obvious that Jack felt bad for even bringing up the subject and Harry didn't want that to be the way practice would start, so he added a few encouraging words, hoping they would hit their mark.

"Look, we're going against Slytherin and I've watched them practice. Trust me when I tell you we're going to need every ounce of help we can get. They've got a new Chaser whose dad works for Cleansweep and she's been given a broom that won't even be on the market for another year, and that's information that came straight from Ron. So I suggest that you all give thanks that we've got Ron on our side, hop on your brooms, and get to our practice. Let's show the Slytherin team that fancy brooms and cheap tricks won't win them the Quidditch Cup. Not this year! So let's go and play some Quidditch!" he finished with a final cry, throwing his fist in the air.

As one the team shouted their hurrahs, mounted their brooms, and flew off into the sky.

The rest of the week seemed to have revolved around the Quidditch practices. Even Snape seemed to be a bit more reclusive towards Harry.

He had spoken to Remus just before he went to bed Monday night and was relieved to hear that Remus would be able to pull it off, though he did say that Dumbledore was less than enthusiastic about the idea.

"He's worried that someone might take the opportunity to come after you, but I assured him that you'd be safe and he reluctantly agreed."

"Right. It's not like there's Death Eaters at every corner waiting to attack me. Besides, if the Prophet was right then I'm sure they've got other things to do right now than to go after me."

"That's what I told him. Besides, if I'm successful on my little mission then you should be covered for at least a week."

"What exactly are you doing for the Order anyway?" Harry asked.

"You know I can't tell you that, Harry. But indeed, I do need to get going, but I'll meet you all on Friday, near the Whomping Willow."

What struck Harry as ironic was that time seemed to speed by until the next practice on Wednesday, yet that practice only seemed to last a few minutes.

And so all too quickly Thursday night had arrived and still his gifts hadn't arrived and Harry began to worry that they might not arrive before the practice the next day, or worse, until after the game.

But Harry's worries were relieved on his way back to Gryffindor Tower when he bumped into Ron.

Harry had just said goodnight to Amanda after spending a full hour with her in his office, talking a lot and connecting in a variety of more physical ways. But soon it was time for her to get back to her group, and Harry felt he needed some time to think about the upcoming game. So he opened the secret door and let her take it down to the main floor, deciding that he'd rather take the long way around himself.

And so a few minutes later he came around the final bend towards the staircase, staring at his feet and thinking about the upcoming game and wondering where his order was, when Ron spotted him and ran over.

As he looked up at Ron Harry noticed that sweat was covering Ron's face as though he'd just run straight from the grounds, and he soon found out that he wasn't far off. Harry's face became very serious and concerned.

"What's wrong, Ron?" he asked quickly.

"What's wrong?" Ron repeated. "What's wrong is Hedwig's been outside the dorm window for the past forty minutes with three other owls and a package as large as your trunk and they're all biting at anyone who tries to bring it into the dorm. Shamus and Dean both have scratches all over their hands trying to help me bring it in."

"Oh, Thank God."

"Thank God? Are you completely bonkers?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm sorry they got hurt, but… Well, you'll just have to see. Come on," he added, running off before Ron could reply.

Harry ran up to the Gryffindor Tower as fast as he could with Ron behind him, trying to keep up. They were both out of breath when they entered the bedroom but Harry seemed still full of energy as he reached the window and found Hedwig, along with three very large black owls, all working furiously to keep the large package afloat.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand, called _Wingardium Leviosa_, and reached out for the package. As soon as he had both hands on it the three black owls quickly flew off while Hedwig landed on the balcony and awaited her reward.

Harry quickly put the package on his bed and turned back to Hedwig, pulled a teacup out from his pocket, and threw it out the window. Just as it passed beyond Hedwig it transfigured back into a large mouse which Hedwig immediately turned and dove for. She caught it just feet from the ground and flew off into the moonlight, hooting happily all the way.

Harry turned and looked at his present, turned to see who else was in the room, and found only Ron. The others must have gone to see Madam Pomfrey for their cuts.

"Well, I'd love to open them here, but I don't want to take any chances. Come on, we're going back to my office."

And again, without further warning or waiting for a reply, Harry grabbed the still very light package, ran downstairs, through the common room, out the portrait hole, and into the passageway up to his classroom, again running as fast as he could with no regard to how exhausted he was.

When he got into the room he turned for his office when a loud singsong voice came from above.

"Well if it isn't Mr. _I'm so very important _Deputy Professor Pottie wee Potter."

"_Cresco Inflatus_" cried Harry, flipping his wand towards Peeves.

The spell hit with uncanny accuracy causing Peeves to begin blowing up like a balloon until he was five times his normal size until even his face and mouth were too bloated to let him speak. Had Harry taken notice he might have compared it with what he had done two years ago with his Aunt Marge, but he had already gone into his office and closed the door behind him.

But then Peeves poked himself in the belly which caused a loud, high-pitched screeching noise followed as he flew about, flying around this way and that, shooting in and out of Harry's office until he finally dropped through the floor and out of sight.

Harry shook his head for a moment, trying to forget what he'd just seen and turned his attention back to the package which he'd just put down on his desk.

Now that the time had come he was almost scared to open it, afraid that it might really be empty. Still, he had to get it over with, and so just as Ron began to ask what it was, Harry attacked.

Paper went flying everywhere, small bits floating down like snow as he finished, looking at seven boxes. Each of the boxes ranged in sizes from four and a half to six feet long, all about two and a half feet tall and about a foot wide. Three were bright silver, two a dull gold, another a very bright gold, and the one he knew was his which was pitch black

"Ron, do you know what those are?"

Ron didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on the boxes, glazed over and without any sign of life. If Harry hadn't known the cause he might have been worried, but if there was anyone who would recognize these boxes, Ron would.

After what seemed like an hour Ron turned his gaze towards Harry, afraid to ask the question Harry knew was on his mind.

"You get the _Dominator_," replied Harry simply.

As one, they both quickly turned towards the boxes and Ran for them, opening them up and looking at their brand new, state of the art brooms.

Harry's Firefox, the next model up from the Firebolt, was solid black and looked quite a bit like it's predecessor, not including a few soft curves here and there, and a shiny little faceplate engraved with a fox's head, it's hair turning to fire behind it. There was one other distinguishing thing Harry noticed, and that was the length of the broom. It was at least a foot longer than the Firebolt mounted on the far wall, and the bristles on the back were nearly twice as thick.

Harry looked over at Ron who had tears flowing from his eyes, grabbing tightly to his new Dominator, the shortest of the brooms.

"It's supposed to be made especially for Keepers. It's not quite as fast as some of the other brooms, but it's charmed to go in any direction at the slightest push or pull and has the second fastest acceleration in the Nimbus Line. Mine's got the fastest acceleration, but those three can still go a bit faster. Those are for your sister and the others. So, do you think they'll like them?"

Ron performed an over-exaggerated nod, smiling from ear to ear while still tightly gripping onto his new broom.

"Good. And before you go getting thick on me you can just consider this as both your birthday and Christmas presents. And I don't want you doing anything stupid like trying to buy me a house or something to make it up to me. All I want is for you to bring up your game."

Ron just nodded slowly, a glazed look over his face.

"Good. Now, I've got to get some sleep for classes tomorrow, but I want you to give these letters to everyone on the team. I want everyone to meet us by the Whomping willow right after their first classes after lunch, and tell them not to worry about their final classes. The only person who had me worried is you with Advanced Potions, but I told Professor Snape that you'd be willing to stay late next Monday to make up and that Hermione would be able to get the homework for you. And you better not brush it off. I've still got to work with him and I told him that I'd make sure you'd do your best work if Hermione and I had to stand over you until you did."

"Alright, alright. But what's this all about?" Ron implored.

"You'll see tomorrow just like everyone else," Harry replied with a cynical smile. "Now let's get to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow.

And with that they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, all the while Ron begged Harry to let him go out for a spin for just a few minutes, but Harry just kept reminding him that he was a prefect and that he had to be an example to the rest of the students. Of course, this was about the only thing stopping Harry from jumping out the first window they came to and flying off himself.

But they made it to their beds without incident, hiding their brooms under their Quidditch robes and rushing by anyone who asked what they were doing as though they hadn't heard what had been said.

As soon as they reached their rooms they hid their brooms under their beds, changed, and were fast asleep within minutes.

Friday was a very bright sunny day which seemed to make the day last ten times longer than it was. The minute hand on the clock seemed to stand still, if not move backwards whenever he looked up at it, and by a quarter to three he felt he just might go insane. But finally the bell rang and classes were over. He ran as quickly as he could up to his own classroom where he grabbed the rest of the brooms, along with his own which he'd brought with him before the start of classes, and ran to the first window from his class, which was just down the hall.

He quickly flew down towards the Whomping Willow, flying over five of his team members as he did and spotting his sixth member, Ron, standing just outside the reach of the Willow.

He landed next to him and put the rest of the boxes between him and Ron just as he saw Remus coming from the other side of the Willow.

"Hello Harry," he said pleasantly, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Hi," Harry replied, too excited to say anything else.

"Well, it looks like everyone else is just about here. Did you want to give out their presents now, or after we go?"

"Let's do it afterwards," Harry replied with a smile.

Soon they all arrived, standing around in a circle as Remus pulled out a large suitcase and asked everyone to hold on.

A few minutes later Harry felt that familiar tug on his navel and knew that they were on their way.

A few moments of twisting and turned came to an end when Harry and company felt the ground once again beneath them as they found themselves at the far end of a long hallway leading somewhere outside.

Knowing immediately where they were, Harry smiled broadly and headed for the end of the hallway calling out, "Alright, everyone, lets get going!"

And so Harry lead the Gryffindor team through the hallway and out into the wide-open air with the sun shining brightly overhead.

Harry heard the gasps, the oohs and ahhs from his fellow teammates as they looked upon the great open Quidditch pitch, taking in everything they saw, and he waited.

_Any moment now_, he thought with a smile. And then it came.

"Crikey!" cried Ron suddenly. "Harry, do you know where we are?"

"I don't know, Ron. Why don't you ask them?" Harry replied pointing towards the far side of the Quidditch Pitch.

Flying down from the goals at the opposite side of the pitch were seven small figures racing towards them. They slowed only when they were less than fifty feet from Harry and his guests. It was only then that the rest of the team finally concluded what Ron had discovered moments earlier; this was the Chudley Cannons' Quidditch Pitch.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team," pronounced Harry, "I introduce you to our guest coaches for the day, the Chudley Cannons!"

And on queue the Cannons landed, hopping off their brooms to greet their visitors. Blake stepped forward; hand stretched out and welcomed the team, starting with Harry.

"I hear we've got something in common, Captain Potter."

"I guess we do, Captain Baxton. Congratulations and congratulations on your recent wins. You keep up the good work and there just might be a large cup with your name on it."

"That's the plan. But before we worry too much about that, let's first make sure that old Gryffindor keeps the one they have. Now then, who have we got here?"

And so Harry began to introduce each member of his team as Blake did the same.

"Now then, shall we break into groups and get some practice in?" asked Blake. "You've all brought your brooms, of course. I see Harry and Ron did."

A hush fell over the Gryffindors as they realized that none of them had brought their own brooms, but the silence was quickly broken by Harry who replied for them, "Of course they have. They just don't know it yet."

And without further ado Harry whipped out his wand, called "_Alohomora_," and the five remaining boxes he'd brought with them burst open, each broom popping out of it's box and hovering a few feet from the ground.

And once again the silence overtook the Gryffindor Team until Harry finally walked over and began handing out the brooms to each of the players. When the last one was passed out he addressed his newly equipped team proudly.

"Now then. We've got the brooms, and the Cannons have the same models as we do, so the only excuse we have left for not winning the Cup is not knowing how to use them, and that'll be remedied right now. Everyone, mount your brooms. You're about to get the best Quidditch lesson of your life."

And so began a six-hour training session that the Hogwarts Gryffindor Team would never forget.

Everyone split off, each paired with their Cannons counterpart.

Harry was once again paired off with the Sylvia, but before they headed off he watched as the rest of his team took to the skies, each oblivious to the world as they lived out fantasies none of them ever imagined could have come true.

Harry was especially happy to watch as Ron headed off with the Cannons' Captain knowing full well that it would be a day that Ron would not soon forget, if ever.

Finally, when all of his team were in the air he finally turned to Sylvia.

"So how well does it handle?" he asked her simply.

"Better than my legs," she replied. "It's like, once I see the Snitch the broom suddenly locks onto it and follows it perfectly with barely any guidance at all. I'd think it was cheating if I hadn't tested it myself a couple days ago."

And so their day of training began.

Harry and Sylvia tested the speed of their brooms, chasing down the Snitch with a speed Harry would never before have believed possible on a broom. What's more, though he could feel the wind flowing so quickly through his hair he found himself oddly unaffected by it, as though it was only a light breeze. Sylvia would later explain that this was due to a new set of spells which not only allowed for the increase of speed but reduced the impact of the wind on the rider. This allowed for greater freedom at higher speeds which would allow Harry to chase the Snitch at maximum speed without worrying about taking his hands off the broom to grab it.

He proved this theory several times, catching the Snitch nearly as often as his counterpart, still quite amazed how well it handled under such incredible speeds. It turned so sharply that it seemed impossible not to fall off, yet a light hand on the broom was all it would take to keep hold, making U-turns nearly as easy to pull off as stopping.

As he felt the broom throughout the day Harry knew that the game of Quidditch would go through some incredible changes over the next decade, considering how many things could be done on his broom that were truly impossible on his Firebolt.

As the day turned to dusk, Coach Johnson came out to announce a timed game between the Gryffindor team and the Cannons.

On any other day the Gryffindor Team might shy away from such a challenge if not all together run for the hills, yet they were so hyped by their practicing that they were raring to go.

The Coach quickly went over the modified rules for the quick game, announcing that the capture of the Snitch would earn the points but not end the game and that adversely, if the Snitch were never caught the game would still end at eight sharp. This would give their guests time for a brief supper before heading back to the school.

Harry and Sylvia agreed, just before heading off, that they would meet above the pitch and watch their respective teams, checking for strengths and weaknesses during the first hour of the game. Harry could not have been more impressed.

Ron seemed to be covering all three goal posts at once, bouncing up and down, putting his broom's vertical flying to the test and surpassing all expectations. Of ten attempts, Ron was averaging eight saves which was good in any game, but against a professional team like the Cannons it was nothing short of spectacular.

And Ginny was astounding Harry with her speed. That broom of hers was not nearly as good with sharp turns as his or Ron's, but what it lacked in turning ability it greatly made up for with it's impossible weaving ability and brute speed.

Before then Harry had never seen a broom go from one end of the pitch to the other in less than forty seconds, yet he timed her at least three different times making the trip in between twenty-two and twenty-five seconds, and once with an open lane made by her faithful Beaters, she pulled it in nineteen seconds.

"I'd hate to see what would happen if she ever collided with someone moving that fast," he called to Sylvia.

"Not what you'd expect. It's one of the safety spells on the new brooms. They create some kind of bubble around the broom and its rider. They tell me it seems like everything outside the bubble is normal but once it enters that little space near the broom everything just seems to compensate for speed. I've seen two of my Chasers collide a couple of times and it was no worse than on their old brooms. In fact, most of the time they seem to be rather better off."

"Nice one." Harry replied. "Well, I guess we'd better get off on that Snitch. I'm sure I could use a bit of practice myself."

"Right," agreed Sylvia, and off they went.

Two hours and seven hundred and eighty points later they heard the whistle go off announcing the end of the game.

Harry was not at all surprised that the Gryffindors had won; in fact he had expected it. What he would never tell his team was that Sylvia had agreed to throw the game to them which she had done, though not until the very end of the game. It was not until there was only fifteen minutes left in the game that she finally spotted the Snitch. But instead of following it as she would normally have done, she instead performed the Wronski Feint, the signal to Harry to follow her wherever she went.

He followed her as planned and she pointed him towards the Snitch, though in truth Harry had spotted it himself as he caught sight of Sylvia heading towards the ground. Still, he followed her as planned, moved up right beside her, and stretched his hand out for a final grasp reaching just a few inches further than her and grasping onto it, putting his team one hundred and twenty points above the Cannons.

A final scoring by Ginny capped off the win, but was a thousand times more important to Harry was that it meant that without the points he and Sylvia had gained for their teams, his team had scored only ten points less than a world class Quidditch team and he knew full well that there was no team at Hogwarts who could ever compare to that.

Later, as they were finishing up their supper Ron regaled Harry will everything he learned from the Cannons Captain.

"He's bloody brilliant. He puts Wood to shame. And everything that broom can do, it'll take me the next fifty years to find a way to repay you for that broom. And did you know there's a charm on it which makes your shoes stick to it? Blake actually pulled of a Starfish and Stick with no hands. I'd though I was losing it till he told me what he was doing. If you're careful you can even stand upside-down on it, though he said it's a bit hard to steer like that. And you can also…"

And Ron went on and on about everything Blake had shown him and soon the whole team was reminiscing over everything they'd learned, thanking Harry every ten minutes for the brooms and telling him how much they loved the trip.

"Well, it's a fringe benefit of being a Professor," answered Harry, "and so long as we win that cup I'll consider it money well spent."

And so they continued chatting right up until the very last minute before nine when they gathered up their things and took the suitcase Portkey back to Hogwarts.

When they arrived back at the Whomping Willow they found Hagrid waiting there with a big smile, welcoming them back and nodding to Remus who had to go back to Hogsmeade so as to get some rest before he headed off to finish the secret mission Dumbledore had sent him on.

"Well, I'll do my very best to get back in time to see the game, so long as you don't catch the Snitch too quickly," he added with a wink. "What you did here, Harry, was a really good thing and I don't want you double-guessing the fairness of it. Each and every team at Hogwarts has their own secrets as you told me a few days ago regarding that Slytherin Chaser of theirs. But now you're prepared and that's good."

Harry smiled sinisterly, but Remus was not done.

"But I'd like to ask you to be sure that you don't try solving all of your problems with money. I realize you've got a lot over at Gringotts but you should be careful with how fast you spend it. You'd be surprised how fast money can move when you don't watch your spending, and the interest rates at Gringotts is nothing like those Muggle banks. You'd be lucky to make one and a quarter percent in interest and that's not going to add up nearly as quickly as you can spend it."

Harry nodded blankly, not really sure where his Godfather was coming from but certainly not up for rebuking him.

"Good. I don't want to sound like I'm telling you what to do, but I worry about you some times and I just want to make sure that you don't have to worry about the future."

"I'm not worried," he replied. "As long as I've got you watching over me I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Harry wasn't quite sure why he felt he needed to justify himself, but he couldn't stop himself so he just kept quiet.

"Alright then. Well Hagrid's going to take you all back so I'll see you later."

Remus put his hand out and Harry took it, and each of them softly slapped the other on the shoulder, their final showing of masculinity before he headed home.

Harry turned and ran after the group, catching up with them just moments before they came around the corner and headed for the Quidditch pitch.

Their timing couldn't have been more perfect as they watched the Slytherin team walk off towards the Castle as they approached their dressing room, allowing them to lock up their brooms for the night before following the Slytherins into the castle for the night.

The air the next morning was electric as everyone awaited the big game; Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

Harry downed his breakfast in three big bites, anxious to get it over with so they could get to the game.

As good as the team was, Harry was still extremely nervous, worried that, as is always the case in Quidditch, anything could happen. With this being his first official game as Gryffindor Captain, Harry's nerves were as bad as they were as he waited for his turn against the dragons during the first challenge in the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry and the rest of the team gathered at the back of the Great Hall as they all seemed to finish their breakfasts early and started heading out towards the pitch.

They passed Hermione on their way out and Harry reminded her to bring the Omnioculars and take as many pictures of Snape and Malfoy as she could and she smiled broadly back to him.

"Actually, we've got two pair so I can watch Malfoy while he watches Professor Snape."

Harry was about to ask who she was talking about when Davie walked up behind her, Omnioculars in hand and smiling broadly, giving Hermione a soft kiss before looking up at Harry and wishing him good luck at the game.

"I'm a bit excited to see what a real British game of Quidditch is all about."

"Well I'm sure you'll be in for quite a treat," replied Harry with a smirk, the rest of the team chuckling behind him. "But there won't be much of a game if we don't get out there and get ready so we'll see you later."

Davie waved goodbye, his other arm around Hermione who did the same, and soon they were off for their own breakfast and Harry led the team the rest of the way out the castle and out to the Quidditch field.

An hour later students and professors could be heard heading up into the stands as Harry finished going over the game plan.

The idea was very simple. They would come out very quietly, flying slowly and with a much control as possible, giving nothing away. Then, after they took their positions Ginny would fall back and lie in wait for the Slytherin Chaser to take off, expecting to shock and amaze everyone. That's when Andrew Kirk and Jack Sloper, his two Beaters, would rocket off for the nearest Bludgers and send them whaling down, trying to knock the Slytherin Chaser off her broom while Ginny dove down from above, snatching the Quaffle from her hands just seconds after the Bludgers hit.

Even if they missed, and Harry knew there was that possibility, the point was to distract her knowing full well that she'd never expect a Gryffindor to match her speed. Once Ginny got hold of the Quaffle, Harry was sure that his three Chasers could work together to score the first point and that's all it would take to get on a roll.

That was the one thing Harry knew would win them the game. All they would need to do is get three or four goals without letting the Slytherins score and they'd get start getting angry which would lead to them spending more time cheating and less time working together. It had been true for the past five years and he was sure it would be that way today.

The team agreed and so they continued working on ways to keep scoring while getting under the skin of their adversaries as much as possible. With only seconds to go Ron made the final suggestion that was instantly applauded by the rest of the team.

"As soon as you get the Quaffle over at their end of the field," said Ron with a grin, "I'll need you to volley it for about thirty seconds. That'll give me all the time I'll need to get them started, and soon enough we'll have the Slytherins going absolutely bonkers!"

"Is everyone ready?" asked Madam Hooch as she poked her head through the front of the team room.

"We're ready," replied Harry with a big smile.

"Very good then. One minute to game time."

And the seconds ticked down, slowly but surely, until Harry could hear the voice of Lee Jordan over the speaker, making the opening announcements for the game, quickly working up to the team roster.

And then he heard his name called, shouted back to the team to keep to the plan, and slowly took off, rushing off into the open sky.

The crowd was wild, shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs in honour of the Gryffindor team.

The rest of the team followed, each getting a thunderous response as they flew around the pitch, just high enough to not be identifiable to the naked eye and thereby hopefully reducing any chance that the Slytherins would notice the new brooms, and it seemed to have worked. They flew full circle around the pitch, never too fast, and met back at their side of the pitch before splitting off into their own positions.

Madam Hooch approached the field and prepared for the game, opening the Quidditch box and releasing the two Bludgers, picked up the Quaffle, and finally pulled out the tiny Golden Snitch, throwing it into the air and letting it fly off.

Sending the box off with her wand she mounted her own broom, flew up to the centre of the pitch, pulled out her whistle, and blew.

The game was on.

Coming Soon

Chapter 20

Quidditch, Game 1

Gryffindor VS Slytherin


	20. Chapter 20 Quidditch Game 1 Slytherin V...

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 20

Quidditch Game 1,

Gryffindor VS Slytherin

"And the Slytherins get the Quaffle. Montague passes to Pritchard, Pritchard dives. Pritchard passes to Davis… My lord can she move. Look at that broom fly. The rumours about her father giving her a new broom must be true. She winds back, throws, this is going to be ugly… Weasley Baggers it! Can you believe it?"

Harry expelled a loud sign of relief.

He was sitting on his broom, watching his team as they worked flawlessly, now breaking out in full stride as they whipped around the pitch, the Slytherins like turtles chasing hares.

Suddenly his eyes shot down to the stands, wandering from one bench to the next, searching for someone. Then he saw them, Hermione and Davie, and a moment later they looked up at him, both waving, and he knew they had gotten the pictures he wanted.

"Weasley to Creevey, or is that MacDonald… now back to Weasley… She shoots… Ten points for Gryffindor!"

The crowd roared at the first goal of the game.

They quickly calmed down as the Quaffle was sent back up, but the Slytherins didn't stand a chance this time. Not holding back, Ginny, Dennis, and Tracey all sped off, catching the Quaffle less than two feet from Madam Hooch's hand, passed back and forth no less than six times before firing it through the hoop and…"

"Another ten points for Gryffindor. That's two goals in as many minutes. If they Slytherins want to win this one they're going to have to work fast and…"

Harry didn't hear the rest. He suddenly realised that as good as his team was playing it would be worth nothing if Malfoy caught the Snitch. He looked up and saw a furious Malfoy, searching franticly for a glint of gold.

"Why Malfoy, you look truly panicked."

Malfoy's eyes shot over to Harry, a sneer across his face as violent as humanly possible.

"Piss off, Potter," he spat.

"Come now, Malfoy. You don't really think you can win, do you? You've never beaten me in a fair game of Quidditch, and after last week we know you can't beat me in a proper duel either. And then there was that little thing with your Dad last June…"

Malfoy snapped. He lunged forward on his broom, taking a brutal swipe at Harry's head, but he was too slow, and even if he hadn't Harry had been expecting it and was ready. He flipped himself upside down, executing a perfect Sloth Grip Roll and rocketed off towards the stands, Malfoy on his tail.

Harry wanted to make sure he kept Malfoy busy and there was no better way than a game of tag.

He dove for the base of one of the stand towers, pulled lightly to the right and climbed, orbiting one of the stands as he rose, Malfoy closely behind him.

One thing he had to keep remembering was to restrain his speed and broom control. He didn't want Malfoy to know any more about his broom than necessary until they were going after the snitch. Still, he found he was enjoying the chase, especially since he knew his stalker had no chance of catching its prey.

When he reached the top of the tower he turned towards the other stands and chased the crowds, swooping over heads and just out of the grasps of the Slytherins who tried to throw things at him. Ironically, most of these things were thrown too later and hit Malfoy instead.

"See, even your own mates think you stink as a seeker," he called back. "Come on, you can do better than this, can't you? Even Hermione's faster than this."

Harry could hear Malfoy scream back at him, but he couldn't hear the words because of a loud cheering that grew from the other side. Gryffindor had scored again. That was their third goal, and that meant that Ron was about to unleash.

Sure enough, moments later Harry saw Ginny, Dennis, and Natalie tossing the Quaffle all about and buying Ron the precious extra seconds he needed. He flew over where Harry saw Hermione and Davie earlier and stopped for a moment, waving his hands upward, trying to get the attention of the other Gryffindors. It didn't take long.

Soon the chants could be heard throughout the pitch; no, not chanting but singing, "Weasley is our king, Weasley is our king, He never lets the Quaffle in, Weasley is our king!"

Harry laughed out loud, knowing this would be rightly pissing Malfoy off, and that's when it happened.

There was a loud thud as something struck the back of Harry's head, and then everything went dark.

The sun burned his eyelids, forcing him to open them as he slowly regained consciousness.

He half sat up, checking his surroundings and finding himself not only on the ground but surrounded by Hermione, Davie, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey who was smiling softly at him, shaking her head and mumbling something he couldn't hear to herself.

Hermione said something to him but he couldn't quite make it out as his ears were still ringing. He tried to sit up and get hold of his bearings.

Madam Pomfrey bent down to him and gave him a goblet filled with some misty liquid and helped hit to fully sit up so he could drink. Its affects were instantaneous. He sat up fully, quickly, and all the sounds from around him, including above him in the stands, were all coming into focus.

"That will help a bit," she said smiling, "but if you plan on getting back out there you're going to need to rest a few more moments. This draught goes straight to your head first, and then slowly works its way through the rest of your body. If you give it another two minutes and you should be ready to get back up there and get yourself another life threatening injury," she added, shaking her head.

"Right," Harry said, not quite sure what she was talking about.

But Hermione filled him in quickly with her next words.

"It was Malfoy. He used that back of his broom to smack a Bludger right at you. We got a free goal out of it, but ever since he's been laughing his head off. It's probably the only reason he hasn't caught the snitch yet. He's been…"

"WHAT?" Harry shouted, now fully awake. "The game's still going on?"

"You betcha," replied Davie, "and the Gryffindor's are going to make Hogwarts History if they keep going like they are. So far the score's Five Hundred and eighty to a hundred and twenty, and the only reason they've got that is cause the Slytherins were have been cheating for the past hour, trying to send everyone to the showers."

"What?" Harry asked, baffled. He couldn't understand how the game would still be going. Then he remembered. _This is Quidditch. That's why they haven't suspended the game._

Harry jumped to his feet. "Where's my broom?" he asked, looking about him.

"It's over there," said Davie, pointing to the nearest stand. "Hermione said it saved your life."

"How's that?" Harry asked as he headed for it.

"Well, after you got hit by the Bludger you lost your grip on the broom, but it didn't lose its grip on you. There's some kind of safety spell that stopped you from falling off. You were upside down, obviously unconscious, but your feet were stuck to it like they were glued or something. Then your broom just glided down and landed nice and soft on the ground and you just sprawled out. Madam Hooch called for a five minute time-out so they could take you off the field and then they started up again."

"How long was I out?" he replied.

"About three hours," replied Davie. "But your big problem is over there. Both Jack and Dennis were just taken out about half an hour ago and Madam Pomfrey said they aren't likely to get back in the game for at least another half-hour, if not longer. And Andrew just got back a few minutes before you woke up. Those fraggin Slytherins are trying to take out your whole team."

"Bloody Hell," Harry cried, then saw McGonagall looking over at him. "Sorry Professor."

"I didn't hear a thing. You just go out there and get your team back together again and get us a nice big win," she added with a smile.

"Right," he replied, jumping on his broom. He shot out with the most speed he could muster and he was surprised just how much speed it could get.

He rocketed up through the stands and back into the game so quickly that when he finally arrived in the middle of the pitch and slowed down he heard a thunderous crack behind him, announcing his entrance. Everyone in the stands when suddenly silent as they stared up at him before they all erupted in applause, except of course for the Slytherins.

He watched as Jack met up with him, both bats in his hands, and welcomed his Captain back into the game.

"Thanks," Harry replied. "But we've got to get the game back under our control. What we've got to do is get our team to score so we can call a quick time out."

"Right. But they've been controlling the game by juggling the Bludgers between those two oafs," he said, pointing at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Okay, then lets take it from them. Give it here," he said, waving at Jack who threw the spare bat to Harry. "Follow me."

They took off straight towards the two Beaters, speeding directly between the both of them.

"If we time it right we can pull a Double Bander Banker on them. On three."

Jack smiled and nodded as he pulled right up beside Harry as they flew for the gap between Crabbe and Goyle.

"One… Two… and… THREE!" he shouted, intercepting one Bludger as Jack caught the other, both belting them straight back and their respective Beaters.

Astonished, both Slytherins were hit hard in their respective sides, lost their balance, and started diving towards the ground, barely holding on to their brooms until Crabbe finally lost his grip and fell the last twenty feet and landed hard on the sand.

Harry looked down for only a few seconds before turning his attention to back to Malfoy, making sure he hadn't caught sight of the Snitch and found him staring right back at him, snarling.

Knowing now that he didn't know where the Snitch was Harry rocketed off towards the two Slytherin chasers; a chicken run in the making. They accepted the challenge and dove for him, pulling together and closing the gap between them. They were flying as one and Harry couldn't have asked for more.

A whistle came from above him and Harry looked up, watched Jack and he signalled, and nodded back. He pulled out the bat, watching fear flood the Chaser's faces at the prospect of being hit, their eyes locked on his bat. Therefore they didn't see or even hear Jack as he walloped a Bludger straight at the two chasers, bouncing it off the back of one and into the back of the head of the other, both of which spiralled uncontrollably away from each other and leaving Tracey Davis all alone.

She was totally outgunned and a few moments later the roar of the crowd told Harry that they had scored once again.

Harry flipped, raced towards the centre of the pitch and called for a time out. Madam Hooch blew here whistle and gave them a five-minute time out, considering that the Slytherins had just lost four of their team members in the same number of minutes.

The five remaining Gryffindors gathered together near their own goals and huddled up.

"First, I'm sorry I've missed some of the game, but you guys did great and I'm very proud. But their not going to stop cheating and you can bet that they're going to keep going until they take us all out, so we've got to switch up the game. We've got to make them play our game, and right now the name of the game is catch the Quaffle. We're way ahead and there's no chance of the catching up if we just make sure that they never get the Quaffle, so here's what we do."

The team moved in closer, listening intently as Harry unveiled his plan.

"Unless I miss my guess Andrew should be back in the game in about half an hour. So until then we're going to run with the Quaffle, taking shots only when it's a guarantee. If you're not a hundred percent sure of the shot, don't take it. I want us to keep it in possession for as long as possible. Got it?"

His two chasers nodded in agreement.

"Good. Remember, the longer we have the Quaffle the less chance they're going to have to score, which brings me to you, Jack. I want you to stay back here with Ron and watch out for Malfoy. Ron, you watch the rest of the game and warn Jack if the Slytherins get the ball and get too close to our side, in which case he'll help you out. I'm going to start searching hard for the Snitch and try to end this game before they take out anyone else. With some luck I'll catch it quickly, but we can't count on it. Now, if for some reason we lose the Quaffle, I want to stick to manoeuvres seven, thirteen, and fourteen only. With a bit of luck we won't have to use them too often. And the moment they get both of the Beaters back I want to go for a goal as soon as possible so we can get another time-out. Any questions? Good. Then let's keep that Quaffle people, and win ourselves a game."

As one they cried out "Gryffindor!" knocked their broom tips together, mounted up and flew off to their separate posts.

A few moments later they were set to go and Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

His chasers quickly captured the Quaffle and began juggling it between them while Jack raced after one of the Bludgers. Unfortunately, he did have some competition with Crabbe who came back with two of their chasers, including Tracey.

But Harry was confident in his team and he had to get working on finding the Snitch. But whatever plans he had made for his team couldn't have prepared him for what came next.

Harry turned around and headed for the Gryffindor goalposts to get a bird's eye view of the pitch, but after only a couple of yards he caught a glimpse of gold which caused him to radically change course. The Snitch had just turned around the bottom of the middle goalpost and was soaring straight at him. All Harry had to do was catch it, and that quickly the game would be over.

He dove for the Snitch, looking back to see if Malfoy was anywhere close and found him racing off in the opposite direction, likely planning to do the same thing he had planned to do.

He turned back towards the snitch and took aim. At these speeds he'd only have one shot at it, so he had to make it count.

Down he flew, arm stretched, preparing to swipe the Snitch, now fifty feet away.

Suddenly the Snitch changed direction, diving straight down for the ground. Harry quickly adjusted, catching up with its trail just feet away from his quarry.

But as he looked past the Snitch he saw he was less than a hundred feet from the ground. He knew immediately that if he caught the Snitch he would do so only feet from the ground, so he hopped up, firmly placing his feet at the base of the broom and preparing for a variation of the Wronski Feint which was quickly becoming his favoured move.

He once again stretched out his hand, preparing to catch the Snitch and pull up at the same time.

Again he checked his distance which was cut in half, now less then fifty feet, but now he was less than five from that small golden ball.

Moving his hand up another foot on the broom he stretched, pulling to within three feet, pushing harder to get some extra speed.

At fifteen feet from the ground he reached out, watching as his fingers actually began to grow, stretching an extra three inches, closing to within half a foot of the Snitch.

With one last lunge he swung his hand, pulling up as his hand swiped for the Snitch. But it was at that same point that the snitch turned, not up, left or right, but straight down, under his broom as he pulled up, sweeping and bouncing off the ground twice before levelling off.

When he finally got control of his broom and turned around, the Snitch was nowhere to be seen.

"Bugger!" he shouted, searching the surrounding area for a glimpse of the Quidditch prize. It was gone.

A moment later Harry heard the hideous sound of Malfoy, laughing at Harry from behind him.

"You get lucky, the Snitch all to yourself, with the top of the line broom, and still you can't measure up. What a git!" he laughed, running off back to his end of the pitch.

His face a crimson red, Harry flew back to Ron, updating him on his near catch of the Snitch.

"Sod him, Harry," Ron said encouragingly. "Just keep your eyes out. You haven't failed us before, and even if he gets lucky we just scored again, so they're going to have to score against me another dozen time before we even need to worry about it, not that I am. Just get out there and don't let that Nogtail get to you."

"Right," answered Harry. "And you keep an eye out for those Bludgers. It looks like Goyle's coming back in the game faster than we thought. Stay alert. I'll be back."

Harry flew off, scouring the ground around the pitch searching intently for the Snitch, passing Malfoy as quickly as he could, trying to ignore any snide comments thrown his way.

On his fourth run around the pitch he got some good news as he saw Dennis join Ginny and Natalie and it wasn't long before they scored once again.

Again Harry called a timeout and the team met at Madam Pomfrey's tent for their huddle.

He was first to arrive and found Hermione waiting for him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

"Sorry, I just thought you might want to hear the good news," she replied, obviously offended. "If you don't want to hear it, fine," she added as she turned to leave.

"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it; I was just surprised to see you is all. What did you want to tell me?"

"Apology accepted. As I was saying, I looked up at the scorecard a few moments ago and realised something. If you guys score another fifty points, and you catch the Snitch, you guys will break two Hogwarts Quidditch records."

"Really? Which ones?"

"The most points scored in a game and the biggest winning spread. The biggest spread so far is five hundred and thirty, and the most points ever scored in a single game at Hogwarts is a thousand one hundred and thirty, but they weren't in the same game. If you guys get another eighty points and you catch the Snitch for another hundred and fifty, that'll give you the two hundred and thirty more points you'll need to have the highest scoring game in Hogwarts history, and if the Slytherins score less than eleven times by then, you'll have a total score of seven hundred and ten to Slytherin's one seventy, giving you a total spread of at least five hundred and forty."

"Okay, if you say so," he replied, shaking his head. "So that's another eight goals for us with them scoring less than a dozen. Got it, thanks. Now, I've got to go rouse the troops," he added, turning for the team and smiling while shaking his head.

He joined up with the rest of his team which was beginning to look drained. He looked over at his sole Beater and knowing what he first needed to address.

"Jack," Harry said, addressing him with a smile, "could you find out if Andrew's going to be able to get back in the game? I've got a few things I can cover with my Chasers really quick."

"Right," he replied heading around the stands towards Jack who was still sitting on the bench next to Madam Pomfrey.

"Now," Harry said, turning to his newly rejoined threesome, "the game plan's pretty much the same as it was before, but now that we've got Dennis back I want to start going for more points. It seems these new brooms have inspired the Snitch. I've never seen a Snitch move that well, even at the Quidditch Cup. I don't know if it's just a new Snitch or what, but I want to make sure that even if Malfoy somehow gets hold of it before I do, we still win, and with the biggest margin possible. I want to prove that the Snitch is only a part of the game, not all of it. Alright?"

"Yeah!" the chasers cheered as one.

"And Ron, I need you to be even more watchful. They've got their full team back now and I have no doubt they're going to try every dirty trick they can come up with and I want to be sure that we stay one step ahead of them. I know you don't believe it, but we've all seen what you can do and I honestly believe you're the best Keeper this team's had in a long time. Now's the best time to prove it."

"If you say so," said Ron softly.

"NO!" cried Harry suddenly, a fire in his eyes. "I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you tell me you're the best and I want to believe it."

"FINE! I'm the best. There's no Keeper better than me."

"I said I want to believe it, and I mean it. Unless you want to sit up there in the stands and watch us take the Slytherins apart without you, I want to hear you say you're the best, and I want to believe it!"

"I'm the bloody best Keeper at Hogwarts!" Ron shouted, a light sparkle in his eyes.

"And what are we going to do to the Slytherins?"

"We're gonna wallop them," shouted Ron.

"We're going to do what?" called Harry.

"We're gonna wallop them," Ginny cried with Ron.

"I can't hear you!"

"We'll gonna wallop them," called the team in unison, including Jack and Andrew who were just walking up to join them.

"Good show!" Harry replied, looking over at Andrew. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready," said Andrew in a defiant tone, "but Madam Pomfrey says I've got to have one more tonic before I can get back in the game, but I have to wait another five minutes before I can drink it, then another five minutes before she checks me over one last time. Fifteen minutes at most and I'll be up there, good as new."

"Good. As soon as you're ready, head for Ron. I'll keep an eye out for you and I'll send Jack back to meet you as quickly as we can. If we're lucky we can get the two of you together quickly. From there, I want you keeping their Beaters as busy as possible. They're our only real problem. They've got one good Chaser and two that aren't, but none of them can hold a candle to you three, and that's what we're going to show them. Hermione just told me that if we can hold the Slytherins back and score fifty more points before I find the Snitch, we'll break two Hogwarts records at once, and I say we do it. What do you say?"

"Yeah!" cried the team together, energy filling their previously drained bodies.

"Are you ready to make history?" he called out.

"Yeah!" they cried again.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Wallop the Slytherins."

"What?"

"Wallop the Slytherins!" they cried aloud.

"ONE MORE TIME!"

"WALLOP THE SLYTHERINS!" they all cried.

"Then lets do it!" he answered, raising his broom.

They all raised their brooms to his, tapped their tips, and off they went again.

The next hour saw a lot of action.

Ginny, Dennis, and Natalie worked the Quaffle with a renewed vigour that dazzled and bewitched the fans, passing the Quaffle with ease and rocketing them through the goalposts as though the Slytherins had never played the game before.

Of course, this did not stop the Slytherins from trying to cheat, but their first attempt was welcomed with some serious repercussions when Andrew, just coming out to the field, watched as Crabbe took Jack's broom by the bristles. Ducking the Bludger which Jack was about to hit, Crabbe pushed the broom hard into a tailspin and seemed to be enjoying himself way too much to notice that Andrew had hit the same Bludger back up to him, nailing him right in the kidneys. Soon thereafter, Crabbe took Andrew's place next to Madam Pomfrey to get patched up.

Newly reunited, it didn't take long for Jack and Andrew to pave the way for their chasers. They were soon half way to the hundred and ten points needed to get the spread record when Harry got a horrific knot in his stomach.

Halfway across the field Malfoy was pulling out of a turn near the bottom of one of the Ravenclaw stands and climbing straight up, hot on the tail of the Snitch and closing fast. With such a great distance to cover in such a short time, Harry knew there was no way he'd be able to get to the Snitch in time without going to fast to catch it himself, so he was going to do the only other logical thing. He had to make sure that if he couldn't catch it, Malfoy wouldn't either.

The only thing Harry could think of was to rocket towards Malfoy in a game of chicken, shooting straight at him and cutting him off at the last seconds and hopefully throwing him off balance from the threat of crashing. And so Harry took off, laying down flat on the broom and pushing with all of his will, trying to force the broom to go faster.

_I need more speed!_ thought Harry intensely. _Come on, faster. Faster. Faster!_

And faster he went, the wind blowing across his face, starting to push so hard that it began to mould around his cheeks in spite of the broom's protective spells. Still he pushed harder.

As the wind began to become unbearable he bowed his head down and praying his head wouldn't fall off as he pushed even harder, now less than a hundred feet from Malfoy.

But when he looked up he saw Malfoy stretching his hand out, his fingers struggling to wrap themselves around the Snitch.

With one last push Harry soared, pushing himself just a bit faster; just a little harder; when suddenly, everything went quiet.

All the sound of the world ceased as he shot by Malfoy with such speed that it looked as though he and the Snitch were suspended in mid-air, and suddenly he was fifty feet beyond him; a second later, over a hundred.

Pulling back hard on the broom his speed slowed, very quickly by any standard and Harry prayed he would not be thrown from his broom. In less than five seconds he'd come to a complete stop, surprised that he was able to keep up on his broom with minimal effort, and noticing as he stopped that he could hear again.

Then he remembered Malfoy and quickly turned around to see if he'd succeeded in stopping him from reaching the Snitch.

He hadn't.

It seemed that Malfoy had a little distance, but not nearly enough for Harry to do anything about it now. Malfoy was going to catch the Snitch.

All he could do was watch as he realised that he'd probably passed by Malfoy so quickly that he seemed like only a quick disturbance, slowing him down for only a second before returning to his hunt. And now he was only inches from capturing the Snitch.

And then Harry watched as the most mesmerising thing began to happen

A ripple in the air, just barely visible, began washing quickly over the stands towards Malfoy and himself. As it passed over them the crowds began doubling over, their hands clamped to their heads.

It reached Malfoy just as he was reaching for the Snitch. As though hit by a tidal wave, Malfoy was bouncing hard in one direction while the Snitch was blown off in another direction.

Taking the advantage, Harry started off in the same direction as the Snitch when suddenly the wave hit him too.

The sudden sound was deafening. A thunderclap filled his head as loud as anything he'd ever heard before, releasing right on top of him, his hands to instinctively clamping over his ears in attempt to soften the sound. It made little impact.

It took half a minute for his ears to stop ringing and another ten minutes before he was able to fully get his bearings back. Of course by then the Snitch was long gone.

And so another forty minutes had gone by and while his team had scored another eight goals to Slytherin's three, Harry still had not found the Snitch. Then, just as he and Malfoy had crossed behind the Gryffindor goalpost, they both caught sight of the glitter of gold.

The snitch was right in the middle of the pitch, heading straight towards the opposite side of the pitch.

Off to his left he could see Malfoy who had shot after it, somehow hoping he could out-race Harry. Harry sped after him, pulling up next to him just as he came within five feet of the Snitch.

He pulled ahead, preparing to reach for it. But then the Snitch abruptly jumped five feet, then dropped back down a few seconds later. It continued this erratic behaviour, and soon Malfoy had pulled right back up to Harry, also trying to reach for it.

Again it jumped up, and Harry knew he'd have to take a chance and hope that his broom would hold true.

He jumped up once again, first kneeling on his broom, then slowly standing up while trying his best to keep his balance as he surfed his broom.

Again the Snitch dropped down, but if it stayed true to its behaviour it would jump back up in another ten seconds.

Inching his way to the tip of his broom, Harry took a quick glance to his side and saw Malfoy still sitting, stretching out his hand out, but he was still a foot away.

Harry pushed forward again, aimed, and waited.

Sure enough, as Malfoy closed to within six inches of the Snitch it jumped back up, now less than three inches from Harry's outstretched hand.

Praying that the safety charm which kept him from falling from his broom would also hold his foot in place, Harry balanced himself on one leg at the tip of his broom, balancing as best he could. The Snitch made a final swerve before dropping back down and Harry lunged forward, swung for it, and dropped forward from his broom.

Incredibly, he did not fall. Instead he found himself standing upside down on his broom, the whole world flip-flopped, and instinctually he reached up and grabbed the broom with his right hand, and swinging himself back up.

The crowd cheered when they saw Harry had recovered from his fall, but when he threw up his hand and revealed that he had also captured the Golden Snitch the crowd went wild. Gryffindor had won, nine hundred and sixty to two hundred and seventy, and in doing so they secured more than just a victory, they broke two Quidditch records and would be forever immortalised in Hogwarts, A History.

Crabbe & Goyle - Beaters Draco Malfoy - Seeker Malcolm Baddock - Keeper  Montgomery Montague, Graham Pritchard, Tracey Davis - Chasers

Andrew Kirke & Jack Sloper - Beaters Harry Potter - Seeker Ron Weasley - Keeper  Ginny Weasley, Dennis Creevey, Natalie MacDonald - Chasers


	21. Chapter 21 The Good, The Bad, The Horri...

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 21

The Good, The Bad,

And The Horrific

The celebration at Gryffindor tower was larger than Harry ever remembered it before. The twins had inevitably brought all of their hottest selling treats from their store, including a few new ones, and there were bottles of butterbeer in every hand.

Of course, everyone tried giving credit to Harry, if not for catching the snitch then for bringing the team to new heights, removing both Ravenclaw and Slytherin from the record books for their old records. Ironically, the Hufflepuffs also lost a slot in the record books, but they couldn't have been happier about it as they were the ones who had been so totally defeated by Slytherin for the old Spread Record.

Around seven Harry was able to squeeze out of the Tower under the guise of getting more treats, but as soon as he was out he headed up to his office, taking the steps two at a time.

He burst through his door and was halfway to his office when an icy voice sent shivers straight through his spine.

"You think you're so cool, Potter!"

Harry turned around and saw Malfoy standing there with his wand pointed straight at his head. Harry's shoulders relaxed.

"What are you going to do, Malfoy? Attack me for beating you at a game you've been playing since you stole your first broom?"

"You got lucky and you know it. The only reason you beat me…"

"Yeah, yeah. The only reason I beat you is because I have a better broom than you. Right. And that's why I've beaten you five out of the past six years and the one time you've beaten me is when I was unconscious. That's an impressive record."

"Well let's just see how much you smile when the Dark Lord comes for you. You won't be so arrogant then."

"Right. Because I've never gone up against Voldemort and walked away have I. Oh wait, there was that one time last year when your dad got arrested, and the year before that when I duelled him, and two before that in the Chamber, and when he took over Professor Quirrell in my first year, and oh yeah, when I was a one year old baby. But yeah Malfoy, I'm scared something fierce. Now, unless you've got something to say regarding your homework, I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of my classroom."

"Make me, Potter," called out Malfoy, his wand at the ready.

"That will be quite enough, Mr. Malfoy," called Professor Snape, who had just come out of his office.

"Professor Snape," replied Malfoy sheepishly. Then, recovering quickly he said, "Potter was threatening me. He was gloating over his win and threatening to beat me in a duel the same way he cheated to win in Quidditch."

Harry raised up to reply, but Snape gave him no chance.

"Sometimes people get lucky, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, his eyes staying on Harry, "as the Gryffindor team showed us today. But Slytherins will always keep our composure because sooner or later we always prevail. Others may win the occasional battle, but we'll be the ones who win war, you can count on that. In fact, I believe there are a few things we should discuss before the next game. Hufflepuff, isn't it?" he added with a dark grin.

"Yes Sir," replied Malfoy, his eyes never leaving Harry.

"Well then, let's see if we can't work on breaking some records of our own," he drawled on, walking for the door with Malfoy in tow. As Snape opened the door Malfoy eyed Harry one last time, drawing a line across his neck with his wand.

Harry simply smiled back, anxiously waiting until the door finally closed behind them.

Then, the smile on his face growing even bigger he turned around and headed for his office. He opened the door and stopped dead, his eyes moving beyond his desk and falling on the chair behind it. There, looking more beautiful than he ever thought possible, sat Amanda.

She was wearing his Professor's Robe and had her feet propped up on his desk, reading a DADA book and thoroughly ignoring him. She couldn't have looked sexier.

No words were exchanged, nor were they needed. They had learned quickly to treasure these short moments together and knew that all they wanted to do was sit there together and be themselves. So he simply stepped forward as her gaze moved from his book to him causing a smile to creep across her face as she dropped her feet down and stood, waiting for him to take her. She didn't have to wait long.

They spent three hours in each other's arms, being with each other without the need for conversation and enjoying the simple pleasure of being together until finally, with a parting kiss in the secret passage they separated, Amanda heading downstairs for her dorm and Harry heading up for Gryffindor Tower.

As September withered away and October emerged, Harry began to feel the stress of his schedule begin to ease a bit. Of course this came following the celebration in Gryffindor Tower when Harry announced that he would reward the team for their victory over Slytherin with a two-week break from practice.

Of course the break came at the same time that Charley had asked him to step up his Occlumency practices to four a week and Professor McGonagall announced that they would shortly be doing their Animagus Quest, whatever that was, which meant that their training would be increased as well. But all of his Duelling classes now working on practical lessons at least half of the time so while he was feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.

His only reprieve was the time he spent alone in his office with Amanda. Of course with his busy schedule any free time he had with her was generally short and spaced too far apart. On his luckiest days he would maybe spend two hours with her before they needed to their respective dorms, and that was usually on Sunday.

But those precious hours brought a simple happiness which Harry found more soothing than any magic he knew. Just to spend ten minutes holding her in his arms felt like the whole world, with it's training and it's Voldemort's and the feuding friends, they all disappeared leaving blue skies, sunny days, and the soft music in his heart, singing to him and telling him that she was someone who just might understand him.

And so time began to pass at a more normal pace allowing Harry falling into a regular schedule and letting him feel comfortable at school with no serious worries for the first time in six years.

But as is the life of Harry Potter, it was not to last. Just two weeks after the now infamous Quidditch game Professor McGonagall announced to Ron, Hermione, and Harry that their Animagus Quest was scheduled for the following Sunday and what's more, it would take at least six hours, possibly more, and thus monopolising the entire day.

Because of this Harry had reschedule his Occlumency lessons with Charley who suggested they compensate by training every day the for the next week.

The only good news was that McGonagall would be working with Ron and Hermione leaving Charlie to work with Harry. If he was lucky he might be able to avoid the incessant lecturing McGonagall did before their lessons and might still be able to find a few free minutes to spend with Amanda. But when he asked Charley about this his response was anything but good.

"You can't understand until you've gone on your quest," Charley had said sadly, "but the whole six hours will be needed, for you more than Ron and Hermione since you are going to be pulled in two very different directions at the same time. If anything it's likely yours will take longer because of this."

"But what is this quest, really," Harry asked with a sigh.

"I can't really explain it to you because I have never done it myself. But from what McGonagall told me of it, every quest is unique to each person. Frankly I can't say I'm very happy with the idea of it myself but Professor Dumbledore has full confidence that you will endure and that's more than enough reason for me to do everything I can to help, which is part of the reason why I will be your guide instead of Professor McGonagall."

"This sounds like a whole lot of doubletalk to me," replied Harry, shaking his head.

"It probably does, but you will understand once it's done, I promise you that."

Of course this brought Harry little comfort. But then he hadn't really heard very much of what Charley had said because he was too busy wallowing in the fact that it didn't look like he was going to see much of Amanda over the next week.

These thoughts haunted him for the rest of the day, following him as he was finishing his lunch with Ron and Hermione when she suggested they go to Hagrid's for tea saying that if this was to be his last day of freedom for a week, they might as well make the most of it.

So after lunch and with Amanda off with the exchange students on some field trip for the day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed off to Hagrid's hut for an afternoon of rest and relaxation.

When they arrived a few minutes later they found Hagrid working out back, fencing off a large area on the side of his hut.

"Harry!" cried Hagrid happily. "How've ye been? I saw that wonderful flying up there during the Quidditch match. Well done. Ain't seen fly'n like that since Charlie."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said pushing his chest out.

"What's this for?" Ron asked, looking at the fence nervously.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Weasley? Don't you worry none. Professor Grubbly-Plank has one smart set of lessons coming up next week, you just wait."

"So how's Grawp?" asked Hermione, changing the subject.

"Aw, well, he's doing much better now, I guess. The Centaurs have sort'a rounded him off into a small area 'bout an hour's walk from here. Now he's alone, well, he don't do much. I'm hopin' Madam Maxine gets back soon. She's bringing three other giants with her, and Dumbledore's working on a place for them to set up for a few months. Great man, that Dumbledore." Hagrid was looking off towards the hills now, past the forest, and Harry thought for a moment he saw a few trees sway, but it was probably just the wind.

"So, are we going to need to bring our Dragon's Gloves tomorrow?" Ron asked, unfazed by Hagrid's show of depression.

"Ronald!" whispered Hermione, kicking him in the shin.

"What?" Ron cried. "Honestly, Hermione, that hurt."

"Well maybe if you were considerate of others we'd be a bit more considerate of you."

"What are you going on about?"

"Would you guys just drop it already," interrupted Harry shaking his head. "Go on, Hagrid."

"Oh, tha's about it. I visit with him twice a week, you know, to keep 'm company."

"Well if you ever want us to come along, I'm sure we'd all be more than willing to come with you."

"Yeah Hagrid," said Hermione softly, but with a hint of conviction.

"Oh yeah. We'd love to come," said Ron sarcastically, though Hagrid didn't seem to notice.

"Aw, tha'd be great of ya. I'm sure Grawp would love to see you again. You know he asks about you sometimes, especially you Hermione."

Hermione blushed softly, not out of shyness but from the embarrassment of knowing that Grawp was probably asking for 'Hermie.'

"Right then," said Harry before anyone else could object. "Well then, how's everything…" Harry did not finish his sentence but was caught suddenly aware that someone very tall was behind him. He turned, momentarily startled by looking up at a large, angry looking Centaur.

"Hello Mr. Potter," said Firenze with a soft smile.

"Oh, hello Professor Firenze," replied Harry, now abashed at his previous reaction. "How goes things in Divination?"

"Fare as always, Mr. Potter. Many of the students are beginning to show promise. And how are things in the Wizards Duelling class?"

"Can't complain. As you say, many of the students are showing progress. Especially Neville. He keeps amazing me with how quickly he's grasping it. I'm a bit embarrassed to say, but aside from Herbology I think mine might be his favourite class."

"Well you're a very formidable wizard and strong in the ways of magic. Even your Aura is stronger than most."

Something in the centaur's words triggered something in Harry's memory.

"Firenze, excuse my bluntness, but do you know anything about the Tomb of Hogwarts?" Harry knew the minute he finished his question what the answer should be by the look in the centaur's eyes.

"What do you know of the Tomb?" he asked ominously.

Harry pulled out the Gold Medallion and Firenze immediately took two steps back.

"You'll have to excuse me, Harry, but I'm afraid I cannot speak of that place to anyone outside of my clan."

"But you're clan kicked you out. Surely you can't still feel loyal to them after that."

"You do not understand our ways, Harry, and you don't need to. Still, I am bound by blood to speak of that to no human, be he wizard or not." A sudden glow took shone from Firenze's eyes, a knowing look that told Harry that there was indeed a great deal he knew about the Tomb but wouldn't say any more without prodding, but he wouldn't get the chance.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I must go. Good day to you all," he added, then turned and galloped at full speed back to the castle before anyone could even say goodbye.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, but he knows something, and whatever it is, it's big. We've got to get more information about the other two medallions."

"Well, we should probably start looking around the library for any books on the Gryffindor Medallion, since it's obviously going to be the one easiest to find," Hermione said assertively.

"True, but that's for tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've had a proper cup of tea and Hagrid looks thirsty."

"Well, now you mention, yeah, I could go fer a little tea and biscuits."

"Tell you what," Harry suggested quickly. "Why don't you finish in here and we can go inside and get the tea going for you.

"Aw, tha'd be great," Hagrid replied with a big smile.

So Harry, Ron, and Hermione went inside and made a quick snack with tea and spent the rest of the day with Hagrid.

That night after dinner brought another romantic date with Amanda, one which seemed to be more intense since they both knew that Harry would not likely be available for another night like this for at least two weeks.

And so for next two hours they sat there, peaceful and quiet except for the occasional kiss or deep sighs they shared in enjoying the simple pleasured of each other's company.

Finally, with only thirty minutes to go, Amanda asked softly, "Are you really going to go searching around for those Medallions?"

"Sure," Harry replied as though he were expecting the question but was not at all upset by it. "I mean, they're part of my destiny, or something like that."

"But we make our own destiny, don't we?" she enquired further.

"Sure, I guess. But I've come to find that there are some things that cannot be avoided no matter how hard you try. So, the best thing you can do is head straight for them and hope everything works out for the best."

"Sounds to me like you're not sure of anything. I mean, why do you even stick around here? You could go off some place where Voldemort would never find you. In fact, I'll bet if I asked Mom and Dad they'd let you come and live with us in the States. And I'll bet if you did Voldemort'd stop looking for you. I mean, if you're out of the country, why would he care anymore?"

"He doesn't work that way. He'd search for me forever because he's too afraid that I'll kill him, which I will, someday."

"Excuse me?" she cried.

"It's part of the prophecy. It's long and complicated and I don't want to go into it, but let's just say that he'll never quit until one of us is dead. That's why I have to look for the Medallions. They're my link to the Tomb, and that's where I'm supposed to find the answer to defeating him."

"Sounds like some child's game of cat and mouse. Do you know which one you are?"

"Yea. The cheese."

She laughed, and Harry again thought of how much he liked her. Even the sound of her laughter sent shivers of euphoria through him. He wondered if she felt the same for him.

"You know," she answered as though hearing his thoughts, "I'm serious about you coming to live with me. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind. After all, I'm sure you'll have met them by then and we'll have been dating for eight months and two weeks, and if they love you half as much as I do then they'll invite you to move right on in, no questions asked."

Harry's mind went blank, his heart suddenly beating very fast. As though recognising that she may have said something wrong, Amanda paused for a second, and then her face went beet red. She had obviously played the words she had just said back in her head.

"You… You love me?" he gulped loudly.

The next ten seconds of silence seemed to last an eternity. The air between them seemed to become charged with energy just waiting to pull them together or blow them apart.

Meanwhile, Harry's heart ached as he awaited her answer, not sure which answer he was more anxious to hear. If she said no, it was just a verbal slip-up, then they could go back to things as they were, no pressure. But if she said yes they'd be going off to a whole new place in relationships, at least for Harry, and that idea both excited and terrified him. Still, the only thing that seemed to really cause a problem was waiting for an answer. But of course, things were not going to be that easy.

"Well, I'm not sure," she replied cautiously, "How do you feel about me?"

Bloody hell! thought Harry. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. And why would it be. No other girl he'd know could give a straight answer when it came to dating. Why would Amanda be any different? Hermione had done the same thing to Ron back in fourth year. And it wasn't like he had brought up the subject. She was the one who'd brought it up, so why was he now being put on the spot.

His palms began getting sweaty as he tried to think about it, unconsciously rubbing his medallion with his thumb and forefinger, trying to figure out the correct answer.

The truth was he had no idea if he loved her or not. It wasn't that he didn't like her; of course he liked her. But love? After only a few weeks together? How would he know? Finally, when he could think of nothing else to say, he replied with the truth.

"Well, I hope you don't get hot at me, but honestly I don't know. I do care about you loads, but I've never really been in love, so I don't know if this is it or not. It's not like I've gotten a lot of experience with it from the Dursleys, and Cho and I never got to the same levels you and I have. I just don't know."

"Oh. Well that's all right, I guess. I mean, if you've only had one other girlfriend, and that was Cho no less,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked defensively.

"Oh, it's nothing against you, Harry. I mean, she's a nice girl and all, and I guess some guys might think she's pretty, but the girls talk and there's always been two words that are used when describing Cho. 'Basket Case.'"

"Well that's not very nice," Harry replied softly, though it wasn't anything he himself hadn't thought in the corner of his mind. "She's not all bad. She's just has a bit of bad luck."

"Yeah. I heard about her first boyfriend. You were there with him, right?"

"Yes, I was." Harry felt the shivers roll through his body as he though about that day two years ago, yet a lifetime of memories away. "I watched as Voldemort murdered him like he was just a fly to swat," he added, his fists balled up.

"Well nobody's going to hurt you as long as I'm around," she said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "And you know what? Now that I think of it, yeah, I do love you. But I don't want you to say the same until you're ready. I'm patient. I can wait."

Staring at her just then, her blue eyes sparkling, he so wanted to say it, if for no other than to make her happy. But he couldn't. He wouldn't do that to her. When he was ready, when he really knew it, he'd tell her then.

Harry watched as Amanda walked off to her own dorm continued to watch for several moments after she left, just basking in the thought of being with her.

He was abruptly snapped out of it when he heard footsteps running behind him. He looked up and caught just a quick glimpse of the face before he rounded the stairs, but it was more than enough.

What Dudley was doing running up the stairs this late was beyond Harry, but he quickly decided he didn't care to know. He'd had enough of Dudley to last him a dozen lifetimes and all he wanted to do was head upstairs to Gryffindor Tower and get to sleep.

He was just coming around the sixth staircase when a powerfully loud shriek flowed down the hallways and stopped Harry dead in his tracks. He knew that voice. Ginny!

Harry ran off, his robe billowing behind him as he chased down the loud shrieking of Ron's little sister, slowly getting louder, and after half a minute of running he was able to guess where the screaming was coming from.

He reached the small staircase that wound up and ran up, two at a time, and nearly knocked down Mr. Filch as he approached the opening to the Owlery. What he saw next brought tears to his eyes.

Covering the floor were dozens of owls, some mutilated in half transformations of cups and plates and other small items while others lay there obviously dead, some looking like they'd been that way for many days. But that was not nearly as horrific as the owls that were still moving, flocked of their feathers and flinching and twitching this way and that, their wing and legs bending in ways no natural creature was ever meant to move. It looked as if they had all been tortured for hours on end. It made Harry want to throw up.

And standing in front of it all stood Dudley, a stone cold petrified look on his face and his wand held loosely in his right hand.

In all his days Harry could not have guessed Dudley would ever go this far with any animal or person, not even himself, and he'd never have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Then he turned his gaze to Ginny and felt his heart break. Ginny was just sitting there on the ground, trying to be brave while holding a large brown owl, patting it softly on it's head an brushing it's feathers back even as it continued to twitch in her lap.

"It's going to be fine," she kept saying, continuing to pet her family owl and trying to soothe it with her voice, but Harry knew it wasn't going to do much good. One of its wings was bent backwards and its head was twitching violently to the side.

"Mr. Potter, would you please," said Mr. Filch softly, looking at the owl with a softness in his eyes Harry had not seen Mr. Filch since his cat was petrified nearly four years ago.

Harry had never given much thought to Filch having feelings above himself, but if anything could soften a stone heart, this was be it.

Harry asked for no explanation but pulled out his wand and with a quick wave had petrified Errol. He did the same to each of the other wounded owls which still moved which, unfortunately, was not very many.

As soon as he picked up the last one he turned and nodded to Filch. The floor looked practically untouched. And then, As though a switch had been flipped in his head Mr. Filch turned from angst to anger, the same which was directed at Harry four years ago.

Filch grabbed Dudley hard by the arm and began yelling, telling him that he'd be lucky if he was merely expelled from school and that he would probably end up going before the Ministry of Magic on the charge of Abuse of a Protected Animal.

"Let him go, Argus." came a commanding voice behind him.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Filch quickly, startled by Dumbledore's unannounced presence. "This student has been caught red-handed. You can see for yourself the kind of delinquency this child has had in the past, but this goes far beyond anything since the Chamber. God only knows what going through his…"

"That is quite enough, Argus. Please, let him be," he added in his cool voice.

Harry stepped forward, about to step in and add his own thoughts on the subject when Dumbledore put up his hand, telling Harry to stop before he got started.

"I can see what's happened here Argus, but before we blame the first person we see we should be sure we have the right person. Mr. Dursley, if you please, your wand?"

Dudley handed Dumbledore his wand, his hands shaking violently. Harry wasn't sure if he was scared of what Dumbledore might do or just in shock at what he'd done.

Dumbledore held Dudley's wand in one hand while he pulled out his own in the other. "_Prior Incantato,_" Dumbledore said softly.

The wand git up like a small torch, though the light itself seemed transparent.

"_Porro_," Dumbledore said a moment later and the lit wand flashed once, then came back to the same soft glow. "_Porro_," Dumbledore repeated, and this time a small lock appeared and unlocked.

"_Deletrius_," Dumbledore said in a decisive tone. "There is no doubt. This wand is not responsible for this unfortunate disregard for life.

At this point a pair of woman's shoes announced Professor McGonagall's arrival, but before she made it all the way up Dumbledore turned and called down to her, "Professor, I need to you gather the Prefects and have them cover this floor and the one below it. There may be a Death Eater about, or at least a very disturbed student."

"Of course, Headmaster. May I…"

"Please, Minerva. Time is of the essence if we are to catch the culprit." McGonagall said no more but could be heard a traversing back down the stairs.

"Headmaster, surely you don't believe that this boy is innocent. He was caught at the scene of the crime with his wand withdrawn," Filch drawled on.

"Indeed he was, but then any wizard would withdraw his wand if he happened upon such a scene. Perhaps that was Mr. Dursley's intent, perhaps it was something else, but I am fairly certain he did not commit these crimes and it was definitely not done by this wand, so right now our priorities should be finding the witch or wizard responsible. If you would go down and assist Professor McGonagall and, when Mr. Weasley arrives, if you could send him up here I would appreciate it."

"Yes, of course Headmaster," Filch replied, then with a final look of disgust at Dudley he turned and headed downstairs.

Without a word to either Harry or Dudley, Dumbledore looked around and for the first time showed the full weight of his sorrow over the total carnage which flowed over the floor. Pulling what looked like a small dog whistle from his pocket and blowing into it, a sudden series of pops filled the room.

Suddenly the room was filled with at least three dozen House-elves. A moment later there was a collective gasp as they came to realize what they had popped into.

"I need to find out who these owls belonged to as quickly as possible. However, my first priority is to get this room cleared as soon as possible so I will need your help in exchanging the Owlery with the southeast tower. Very quickly now," he said assertively.

As one the House-elves circled the room and held hands, bowed their heads, and closed their eyes as Dumbledore moved to the centre of the room.

What happened next was beyond Harry's understanding. The entire room began to blink in and out, windows disappearing and reappearing, and then it fixed and the room was completely different. All but two of the windows were gone, all the perches and owls were gone, and there was a coldness that suddenly overtook the room.

But soon Dumbledore had his wand out and was pointing it everywhere and Harry watched in amazement as Dumbledore re-created the room back into the Owlery in less than thirty seconds. He was just putting on the finishing touches when Ron came barrelling up the stairs.

He stopped abruptly when he saw Dumbledore with his wand out and Harry took the opportunity to step between him and his little sister. But a whimper from Ginny caught Ron's attention just before Harry was able to block his view.

"Ginny!" Ron cried out. "What's happened?"

Ginny just sat there, petting the petrified Errol and rocking back and forth, obviously stunned beyond words.

"Ron, I'll explain it all on the way to the Hospital wing. Professor, do you need the House-elves any more?

"Of course, you're right Harry. I shall send them on their way."

"Actually, if I could I'd like to send Dobby to fetch Hagrid and Professor Grubbly-Plank. Maybe there's something they can do for him."

"Indeed. Dobby, do you think you could ask Professor Grubbly-Plank and Hagrid to come to the Hospital wing?"

"Oh yes Sir. Dobby is Happy to help, sir," replied Dobby, then popped off. A moment later the rest of the House-elves popped away as well.

"Harry, I'll be escorting Mr. Dursley to my office. When you are finished at the Hospital wing I would like you to meet me there."

"Of course, Professor," replied Harry, then turned to Ron and nodded his head. Ron, a big brother, needed no further prompting.

He walked over to Ginny and bent down to whisper to her, "Ginny, we've got to go now. Come on, we've got to get Errol to the Hospital wing."

Ginny didn't say anything but stood straight up, whispering in Errol's ear and continued petting him as though it would break him out of his stupor. It was a very disheartening thing to watch.

It took half an hour to get Ginny down to the Hospital wing and by the time they arrived both Hagrid and Professor Grubbly-Plank were already there with a dozen different bottles at the ready. They both promised to do their best, but as they were working on Errol Harry asked Madam Pomfrey what his chances were. She gave Errol less than a twenty percent chance of survival and even then Harry got the idea she was padding his chances.

So his trip to Dumbledore's office seemed to take forever as he thought about Ron, Ginny, and little Errol.

When he finally arrived he had re-convinced himself that Dudley had done it and was therefore quite surprised by Dumbledore's request when Harry asked what he could do.

"Harry, I am as sure as I can be that Dudley is innocent of any of the wrongdoings that may have occurred in the Owlery. However, I have a strong feeling that the school at large is not likely to believe it. I need you to help in this area."

"But what makes you think he didn't do it? I mean, I've grown up with Dudley and trust me, I know first hand that he's capable of causing any amount of pain and suffering he wants which is usually quite a bit."

"Harry, many young men and women lash out for a number of reasons, but that does not mean that they are necessarily capable of the kind of acts we saw this evening. That requires a very unusually type of personality which I do not believe Mr. Dursley possesses. I believe him when he tells me he did not do it, but I believe someone has tried to place him in a possession to be accused."

Harry tried to listen, but nothing he heard made Dudley sound any less guilty, and that that wasn't what he wanted to hear. Still, he tried to listen.

"I don't know who is doing this yet or why, but I need you to be there for him until we find out. Life for him is likely to become much more difficult him and I know you've had your experience with this kind of thing. Any help you can be will be greatly appreciated."

"Yes sir," Harry replied automatically.

"Good. I have received the list of students who have lost owls and they are spread throughout all houses, but no house lost more than Hufflepuff and there will be many who will ostracize him; some may even seek revenge. You're words of trust will hold more weight than any other in this school, especially with your past with your cousin."

"But they'll just say I'm protecting him because he's my cousin," Harry replied in protest. Maybe he could still avoid being put on the rack for Dudley.

"That may be true. However, it should at the very least give people second thoughts about unjustly attacking him, and right now he'll need that."

"But what makes you so sure he didn't do it. Dudley wouldn't need a wand to something like that. He didn't need a wand when he was torturing me before I came to Hogwarts and he doesn't need one now."

"I'd never do something like that," came a soft cry from the corner of the office.

Harry turned to see Dudley standing there, more sheepish than Harry ever believed possible and looking totally horrified by what he'd seen. He definitely had an air of truth about him, but then he always came off well to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Dursley.

"Harry, if you do not wish to believe you cousin I can understand that," Dumbledore replied to Harry's frustrated look, "But you need to believe me when I tell you that Dudley is not responsible for what happened in the Owlery and I need your support. Can I count on you?"

"Of course, sir," Harry replied sincerely. "But I'm going to need to know what really happened if I'm going to be of any help."

"Indeed. Mr. Dursley?" Dumbledore said nodding to Dudley.

Dudley stood there silent for half a minute before, in a soft voice he began, "I was going to ask Ginny for some help with one of my classes but I didn't know how to ask her, so I started following her on her routes. I was trying to get up the nerve to ask her when she suddenly stopped. I panicked and ducked into the closest doorway."

Dudley began flipping his wand around in his hands and he continued his story and Harry couldn't help but notice a sort of genuine sadness in his posture. Whether he was telling the truth or not, he was playing it for all it's worth, that was for sure.

"Then I heard that she coming back towards me," he continued "so I turned around started climbing the stairs, but it was really dark, so I lit my wand. But that was so bright I figured she's see it so I turned it back off and tried walking the rest of the way up as quietly as possible. But when I reached the top I tripped over something and fell down. That's when I heard the flapping. I didn't know what it was, so I took the chance to light my wand again, and that's when I saw them."

Dudley got very silent and stiff, and Harry didn't need any further explanation. He knew enough.

"It's okay, Mr. Dursley," Dumbledore said, stopping him. "That will be enough. Harry, do you think you could arrange for somewhere for your cousin to stay for the night? I will explain things to the school tomorrow, but for tonight I think he might feel better away from his fellow students."

"Right. I'll set him up my office for the night."

"Very good. I'll send one of the House-elves over with a pillow and blankets."

"That won't…" Harry started, then thought better of it. He didn't Dumbledore thinking about why he might have a pillow and blanket in his office, so he quickly switched gears, "Yeah, and I'll see if I can get one of the Hufflepuff Prefects to bring a change of clothes for him."

"Very well." Dumbledore nodded and turned his attention back to Dudley. "Mr. Dursley, if you will accompany your cousin, he will provide you with a place to sleep for the night. Tomorrow you can return to your dorm."

Dudley didn't respond at first. Then slowly he turned, head still bent down, and came up next to him. Without nothing left to be said, Harry escorted Dudley out of the office and out to his office.

An hour later he was back in his room, Ron's bed still empty since he would be staying with Ginny in the Hospital wing.

As he lay in his bed he debated with himself whether or not Dudley had really done those terrible things. Dudley was surely full of enough ill intent to do a lot of things, but where the line was drawn, Harry wasn't sure. But something inside him hoped that line fell short of that massacre in the Owlery and that Dudley was innocent. Another side of his thought it would be hopeless to expect that much from Dudley and that he had gone over the edge.

Whatever had really happed to those owls, Harry wanted nothing more to do with it. Tomorrow he'd get Dudley from his office, send him to his dorm, and that would be that. And with that final thought Harry fell to sleep, tossing and turning the rest of the night.

Coming Soon

Chapter 22

The Animagus Quest


	22. Chapter 22 The Animagus Quest

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 22

The next week at Hogwarts was more solemn than any time Harry remembered, including the week following Cedric's death. Nearly every student had been affected by the massacre in the Owlery, if not directly then by their friends or siblings.

Dumbledore had been right when he said that no house had gone unscathed. In fact it was Slytherin house that came second to Hufflepuff in casualties. Even Malfoy's eagle had been injured, though not as seriously as the others.

When Dumbledore had spoken the Monday after he had said that forty-seven owls were killed, eighty-three more seriously injured with another nineteen unaccounted for. Harry was relieved to know that he'd set Hedwig out with a "Thank You" letter to the Cannons for their help in training the Gryffindor team.

When asked Harry held up his side of the bargain by replying that he did not believe that Dudley had actually been responsible for what had happened but was grateful that so few people had asked. Most seemed to have made up their minds, more by Ginny and Ron's response than by anything else.

Both of them were thoroughly convinced that Dudley had to have something to do with it, if not directly than surely by association and they had no problems telling anyone who would listen. By Wednesday nearly all of the school including the Slytherins were wearing brown armbands in remembrance of the lost owls, many of which would turn blood red with the words _Dudley the Owl Slayer, May He Rot In Azkaban _written in black.

Harry wanted to feel bad for Dudley since he'd also been there in the past, but every time he did he remembered an old birthday or Christmas, being chased up a tree or beaten up for being born, and suddenly he didn't feel so bad about it.

But soon he had to face the idea that maybe he hadn't done it when Amanda raised the question Friday evening.

"You don't really think he did it, do you? I mean, I spent a week with him before school started and yeah, he's a brat and a dope, but to do that kind of damage requires something much more deep. Dudley's just a spoiled brat. What happened in the Owlery was nothing short of pure evil."

"But who else is there. It wasn't Ginny and it surely wasn't a Slytherin cause they were hurt as much as anyone else."

"True, but I was talking to Davie last night and he seems to agree that maybe it was someone outside the school. Maybe it was a rogue Death Eater or something like that."

"But he'd have no way of getting in without help, and he sure as heck couldn't have gotten out without flying."

"So maybe he had a broom. Or maybe he was some kind of bird Animagus. I'm not trying to say that Dudley definitely didn't do it, but at the same time I don't think he did."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. Honestly I don't think I want to. I'm happy enough just knowing that he's staying as far from me as possible. Even if he didn't do it, he's tried doing a lot of things to me, even after we came to Hogwarts and I helped him out. He's the same old Dudley and he deserves whatever he gets."

"Even if what he gets comes from the Slytherins?"

"Well, they might as well put themselves to some use," Harry spat back.

"Harry Potter. There's no need to be taking that tone with me. I'm not trying to say he's innocent, I'm just saying he might be."

"I'm sorry. You're right. I just don't trust him is all, and I probably never will."

"Well, you trust me, don't you?"

"Of course," he said softly, a smile creeping across his face for the first time in a week.

"Well, then trust me when I say he didn't do it."

"You know, you almost sound certain about it. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No." she replied quickly. "No. I just have faith in people and my faith tells me he didn't do it, and that's the same faith that tells me that you're a good man and that you can find it in your heart to give him a chance."

"Fine. I'll give him the rope and let him hang himself, if that's what you want."

"I'd rather you kept the rope for better use," she replied slipping a hand inside his shirt. No other words were exchanged between them less the words goodnight.

Saturday flew by all too quickly and without incident. Harry spent most of the day catching up on his classwork and working with Snape on the following week's schedule, and when he wasn't doing that he was working with Charlie on some last minute meditation exercises.

But there was one extremely annoying thing that seemed to be going around. Both Charlie and Snape seemed to be on Dudley's side in insisting that the evidence did not point to him. So when he sat down to lunch on Sunday with Hermione and Davie he was pleasantly surprised by Davie's impression of Dudley. Waiting until Hermione went to the washroom to clean up, he quickly and quietly told Harry what he thought of Dudley Do-Wrong.

"But I thought you told Amanda that you didn't think he did it," Harry replied.

"Frankly, I don't. But if you watch a dog get beaten up and do nothing about it, your as good as guilty. That's what I think of Dudley. He may not have done the deed but I'd bet he was involved. It's just that David doesn't want us talking that way and I'm the only one who seems to think he had anything to do with it."

"Well why don't you say anything about it?" Harry insisted.

"Because Hermione doesn't think he did it and I don't want to piss her off. You know how she is when she's mad."

"Yeah, I know. Most people around here are afraid of Voldemort, but I'll take Voldemort over an angry Hermione any day of the week."

"Right. And I'm not saying for sure he did, but if it looks and walks like a duck, I don't care if it barks, two out of three is close enough for me."

"Right," Harry agreed, though he had no idea what Davie was talking about.

"Oh, by the way. I might have a lead on the Hufflepuff Medallion. I was talking to a friend of mine back home while we were in London and I asked him if he'd seen anything like a black and gold Medallion with a badger on it and he said he'd seem something like it on a field trip in San Francisco. He's going to send me a brochure as soon as he gets one mailed to him."

"Why can't we just have them send it to us?" Harry asked.

"They only use Muggle Mail in the US. No owls. It's a whole 'Native American rights' thing, don't ask. Anyways, we should have it in two to three weeks. He said there's a picture of it in the booklet. He said there's a whole occult built around it. It's got some really wacky powers and everything. It really sounds promising."

"Yeah, wow," agreed Harry, "and here I figured that'd be the hardest one to find."

"Now all we have to do is find out where that Gryffindor Medallion is. Meanwhile, I'll keep in touch with my friend and see if he can find out anything more about it."

"Great," Harry said just as Hermione sat back down.

"Great what?" she asked, and they went over the whole medallion thing all over, or at least halfway until Ron arrived and they had to start all over again. Neither time did Davie mention his feelings about Dudley.

At ten minutes before one o'clock they headed for McGonagall's office for their Animagus Quest.

McGonagall was sitting at her desk when they entered and looked quite stern as they sat down. For a moment it seemed as though they may have been mistaken in their timing until she looked up, her expression changing quickly into a surprisingly pleasant demeanour.

"Well, today is the big day, isn't it," she asked cheerfully. Harry got the idea that she was compensating for something in the tone she was using. McGonagall was never this happy and pleasant, even with Dumbledore.

"Well, Professor Weasley has suggested that we join him in his classroom for the quest since we will need a certain amount of space for you two while he works with Harry in his office."

And saying nothing else she stood up led them up to the DADA classroom.

When they walked in they found that once again the chairs and tables had all been removed save one which was probably reserved for McGonagall. The room however was quite dim and the roof was bewitched to look like the night sky just as Charlie's office did when he and Harry did their meditation exercises.

Charlie walked out with a big smile and welcomed them, producing a pair of large mats next to McGonagall's chair and ushered Ron and Hermione to join her there, then sent Harry into his office.

Charlie's office looked just as it always looked during their training exercises except that the dressers which were normally at the four corners of the room were nowhere to be seen.

Harry sat down in his standard Zen position and prepared for his meditation. It was nearly twenty minutes before Charlie finally walked in. As the door closed he noticed that the classroom was immersed in total darkness.

"Sorry about the wait," Charlie said quietly, "but there was one final step that Professor McGonagall wanted to show me as she sent Ron and Hermione on their quests."

"Oh," was all Harry could think of in response.

"So, are you ready to begin?"

"I guess," Harry responded shortly.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Charlie asked, obviously concerned.

"Well, it's just that I'm going on this huge Animagus Quest and I still know nothing about what it is."

"I understand, and that's really part of the quest, understanding it. But you'll see what I mean in a few moments. Now, let's begin. First, I want you to lie down on your back and look up at the ceiling."

Harry complied, laid down on the floor and with his hands over his chest he looked up at the enchanted ceiling, stars filling them like the evening sky.

All around him Charlie began placing candles shaped like dozens of different animals. When he finished surrounding Harry with the candles he then took out a large, black potion and began pouring into a circle just outside the candles.

Then Harry could sense that Charlie had finished and had sat back down. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of over a hundred small candles being lit all at once. Then Charlie began talking to him in a very low tone.

"Okay, Harry?" he asked softly.

Harry nodded.

"Good. Now I want you to look up into the sky and pick a star. It can be any star you want."

Harry looked about for a few moments and found one just over his head that seemed to wink at him. "Got it," he said softly.

"Very good." Charlie replied softly. "Now I want you to begin to focus on it. As you do I want you to start counting down from a hundred, alright?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. Now as you count down you will begin to see the star moving closer to you. Do not fear it, but embrace it, for that is the doorway through which your quest will begin."

Harry gave a faint nod, focused on his star, and began slowly counting back from a hundred.

As he approached ninety he though he noticed the slightest movement in the star, and by seventy-five he was sure the star was actually moving towards him.

At fifty it looked as big as a Bludger as by twenty-five it seemed to actually fall out of the sky.

As he approached ten he could actually begin feeling the heat from the star which now covered the entire sky.

As he counted down from ten the room seemed to become enveloped by the star.

At five the entire room was gone.

And then at one Harry's eyes fell hard as feeling throughout all of his body had gone.

Harry awoke in a large green field. As he got to his feet he found himself on top of a soft hill that overlooked the most incredible view he'd ever seen in his life.

To the north he could see off in the distance a large mountain, both dark and beautiful, surrounded by a tall and very dense forest. The forest continued to the east, but the further east it went the shorter and less dense it was until Harry could actually make out small patches of grass amongst the trees.

As he turned towards the south the forest thinned quickly until it had disappeared, leaving behind a dusty and sandy land filled with cactuses and small oasis's. But then, as it moved westward it dropped right into a large lake which spanned all the way back to the dark forest, and Harry was back where he started.

Then he heard Charlie's voice from behind him. He turned quickly, but Charlie was nowhere to be found.

"Harry. Can you hear my voice?" he asked

"Yes. Where are you?" Harry called out.

"I am still here in the office, watching over you as I guide you along your Quest."

Now Harry understood. He was dreaming, but for some reason he could still hear Charlie.

"Okay, so what do I do now?" he asked.

"For the moment, you wait."

"For what?" Harry asked.

"I cannot say. But soon you should be drawn in some direction, for what reason I cannot say. But when you feel it, go with it."

Harry wasn't exactly sure what Charlie was talking about, so finally he began to just spin around, looking for direction.

And then he saw them.

Small animals began coming out of the shallow forest, each seemingly unaware of each other.

At first there were only a cats and dogs of different breeds. Then a few pigeons and bluebirds flew in, followed shortly after by a few rabbits, some squirrels, chickens and pigs, even a few rats and mice.

A few moments later they were joined by some of the more wild animals including wild boar, deer, goats, even some cattle. Then came some of the larger and more fierce creatures including a variety of bears, elephants, lions and tigers, even some apes.

Harry stared in awe at the spectacle, some many animals walking about as though they were the only ones there, and so enthralled was he at watching them that he nearly jumped out of his shoes when he heard a loud "Croork" behind him.

He spun around and saw something ten times more bizarre than the scene behind him. Here were Frogs and fish, whales and sharks, turtles and dolphins and all other sorts of sea creatures swimming on the ground as though it were completely natural.

Were that alone not weird enough, joining them were camels, roadrunners, coyotes, and snakes and lizards of all types.

And flying above were vultures and eagles, hawks and falcons, parrots, seagulls, bees and dragonflies.

It was a zoo without cages, and Harry kept spinning around, searching for anything that made sense. Finally, having no other thoughts come to him he called out, hoping that the animals which surrounded him would continue to ignore him.

"Charlie?" he called out as loud as he dare, though it was no more than a whisper.

He got no response

"Charlie?" he called out a little louder. Still no response from Charlie, but nothing from the crowd of animals either.

"Charlie!" he said, sure he'd shouted it, though it was truly nothing more than a soft speaking tone.

"Yes Harry," Charlie finally replied. "What do you see."

"What do I see? I see animals, hundreds of animals. They're surrounding me." There was surely some urgency in his voice now.

"Very good. That means your quest is nearly ready to begin."

"Ready to begin?" Harry asked, truly amazed. Did Charlie mean to tell him that this was not it?

"Soon you will find an animal that will identify itself to you. Once it does, he will lead you on your quest."

"But how will I know which one to follow? Didn't you say there would be more than one?"

"That is true, but I do not know how I can guide you in that respect. None have been in your shoes in rather a long time. I can only tell you what I know, and that is to search for the one who will guide you forward."

Harry hadn't heard the last of what Charlie had said because at that moment he was staring at a large, brown lion. He seemed to know it, if only from a long lost dream.

And as he stared at it, it did the queerest thing. It winked at him. But could it have really done that? _Of course not, _though Harry. It's just a lion. It couldn't really have winked, could it?

THERE! It did it again. There was no doubt about it. The lion had winked at him, then turned around and began heading back into the forest. Harry felt drawn to it and before he knew it he had begun walking after it, and then he was running.

But apprehension gripped him as he approached the outer trees of the forest. The realisation that he was chasing a lion, an animal which could tear him limb from limb, had suddenly found it's way to his foremost thoughts.

But when the lion roared, Harry's instincts took over as he started off, running with all his speed after the lion.

Thirty seconds of running later and he caught sight of the lion sitting under a tree, seemingly waiting for him. But no sooner had he reached the tree when the lion pounced away with the grace which only a cat possessed.

Harry immediately chased after it, pounding his feet as hard as he could, running faster and faster, trying furiously to catch his burley prey. But the lion matched his pace effortlessly.

What Harry needed was more speed.

"Harry. Is everything alright?" Charlie called out to him.

"Yeah," answered Harry. "I'm trying to chase the lion."

"A lion," Charlie replied proudly. "Good for you."

"But I can't seem to catch it," Harry interrupted. "It's too fast."

"Indeed. So what do you think you have to do?"

"I don't know," cried Harry, beginning to lose his breath.

"How do you catch a lion," Charlie asked simply.

"You don't. This is insane. I don't even know why I'm trying, but I just know I have to catch it."

"And how can you catch the lion," Charlie repeated.

Harry thought about it. Then an old rhyme came to him and he knew the answer. "To catch a lion you need a lion," Harry replied smartly.

"Indeed. So, what do you need to do?"

"I need to find a…" Harry trailed off. Now he knew where Charlie was going. This was his Quest, and if he wasn't completely wrong, he'd just found it.

"How do I do it?" Harry asked, coming to a full stop.

"What is it you want to do?" Charlie asked.

"I need to become a lion, right? I mean, that's why I'm here."

"Indeed."

"So how do I do it?" Harry asked again.

"How do you walk? How do you breath? How do you move?"

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Charlie was talking in riddles and Harry was not amused.

"Just what I mean. How do you walk."

"That's a stupid question. I just walk."

"And how do you breath?" he asked again.

"I just do. What's this got to do with anything?"

"How do you move?" Charlie asked, ignoring Harry's growing rage.

"I JUST DO!" shouted Harry.

"Then just become the lion." Charlie replied softly. "You have the power, just as you can change your eyes or grow hair, you can change what you are. You simply have to know you can do it, and then it shall be."

Harry was growing more furious by the moment. It's not that easy. It couldn't be that easy because if it was, everyone would be able to do it.

"Think about your training, Harry. Just do it and it will come to you. There is nothing more I can do for you now."

_Nothing more he could do? _Harry thought. _What had he done? _Put out, Harry sat down to think.

How was he supposed to become a lion. He was just supposed to do it. But that couldn't be right. His body wasn't made to just change. But this wasn't his body, was it? This was some kind of weird dream. He could dream about being a lion, why couldn't he do it now?

He crossed his legs and thought about being a lion. What it would be like, pouncing from one spot to the next, his mane flowing behind him. He concentrated on his breathing.

A lion's breathing would be deeper, more fierce. His arms and legs would be shorter with paws instead of hands and feet. He'd be covered in hair and he'd have a tail. He'd breath through his snout and he'd be huge, ten times his normal size. That's what it'd be like to be a lion.

But nothing happened. He sat there for five minutes before he finally gave up, calling back to Charlie.

But when he opened his mouth to speak, there were no words. Instead, a thunderous roar filled the forest so powerful that Harry could feel the ground shake beneath him.

Taken aback, Harry jumped up, took two steps back, and fell over himself, falling hard on his tail.

_My tail?_ Harry thought. He looked down and saw that, in fact, not only did he have a tail, but his entire body had changed into that of a lion. Somehow, some way, he'd actually done it. He'd changed into a lion.

The excitement of having pulled it off filled him. He quickly tumbled onto his four paws and before thinking about it he leaped off. He was not ready for it.

His front paws landed first, but unaccustomed to walking on all fours, they buckled beneath him and he tumbled, head over tail, and rolled to a stop in front of a large tree.

Shaking his head he righted himself again, amazed that such a fall caused almost no pain at all. This body seemed much more resilient than his own and he was back on his feet immediately.

Being more cautious this time, Harry started by taking only a few short steps at a time. The way a lion walked was much different than that of a human, the weight transferring throughout his body seemed to flow on it's own.

But there was a natural balance to it that seemed to come to him quite quickly and within minutes he was hopping along, taking small jumps here and there. A few times he'd miss his footing, but he fell less often and was soon able to keep running straight from one leap to the next.

After a while of getting used to being in the lion's body, Harry came upon a stream. His instincts were instantaneous. He walked right up and licked, testing the water to be sure it was safe.

Before long he was drinking with gusto, filling his belly with the sweet tasting water. It tasted so different in this body, sweeter and more refreshing.

As Harry was just taking a final drink he paused, looked into the water and saw his reflection. It was not exactly what he expected. Sure, he was a lion, but a very young looking lion with only half a mane and much less bulk than he felt, though he was still a good five hundred pounds.

Still, the thing that bothered him was his hair, and so he concentrated, thinking hard, and after a few minutes it grew out another few inches. It wasn't perfect, but it was better. He could work on it.

Suddenly, a loud roar came from across the stream and once again he saw the lion. But there was no wink this time. The moment their eyes met, the other lion turned and ran, and Harry ran after it.

He was across the stream and passing through the trees in now time, seeing the lion in front of him. It was, what, two hundred feet away, yet he could see every muscle stretch as it hopped over fallen branches and large boulders effortlessly.

Harry followed it's trail perfectly, gaining more confidence with each step and pounce. Soon he was leaping over the branches and rocks as though they weren't even there, finally gaining a little ground on his prey.

Fifty feet were gone soon enough, and then another, cutting it's lead in half.

The lion in front began to speed up, but Harry was younger and faster. He could catch it, all he needed was to run a little faster, a little harder, and he'd surely catch it.

Soon it's lead was cut in half again, and after a masterful leap from a rather large stone, jumping fully over a ten foot wide creek, he was within ten feet.

He was breathing hard now, his snout puffing hard and loudly. He could hear his own heart beating, and he could hear his quarries heartbeat too. He pushed harder, exerting his muscles as much as possible, his mouth inches from it's tail.

Then he saw it. His chance to catch his prey.

Up ahead was a log perched between two small hills, a pathway beneath it just big enough for a lion to duck underneath. Harry was sure that's what this one would do, but not him.

He jumped right, moving off the path and dodging through the trees, over small rocks and around some small bushes. He wasn't gaining any more ground, but that didn't matter so long as he didn't lose any either.

They were now thirty and twenty five feet away respectively, and Harry pulled just a little further right, preparing himself for his assault.

His paws knew where to land, moving with a finesse Harry never knew himself capable of.

He was almost there, just a few more seconds.

There. He saw the other lion duck his head, ready to go under the log, and that was his cue.

With two last gallant steps he dug in, pounced lightly onto the log, and with all his strength he leaped, flying through the air, his paws stretched out to their fullest.

He could see the lion below him and knew before he made contact that he'd land right on target.

His aim could not have been more perfect. His front paws landed on the other lion's shoulders, his rear paws landing on its back, and before it could react he let off and landed another five feet in front of it.

With a few last steps he drew to a stop and turned around. There, just a few feet in front of him, stood the lion. It looked not defeated as Harry would have expected, but proud. He smiled broadly, then roared.

Harry did the same and soon the entire forest reverberated with the roars of these two mighty lions.

For the next half hour Harry and this lion played, racing and jumping and wrestling around all over the forest.

They were taking a rest after a rather hefty bout when the other lion suddenly became very quite.

After a few moments of this continued silence Harry's ears perked up, aware that not only was his lion friend quiet, but so was the entire forest.

Harry lay still, focusing on the silence around him, smelling the air and searching with his enhanced cat vision, but for all his searching he could not catch a hint of what was wrong. Then, with a twitch of his friends eyes he whipped around, ready for a fight.

What he saw before him astonished him to the point of losing all control over his Animagus form, causing him to revert to his normal body. As he stood up, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled in trepidation, hoping he'd somehow seen wrong. He had not. Standing before him, a broad smile across his face, was Lord Voldemort.

But as scared as Harry was to face his mortal enemy, there was something not quite right about him. It was in his eyes. He couldn't figure what it was, but for some reason he didn't feel the same fear for him as he should have. Instead he felt…

_Kinship? _ Harry wondered.

Suddenly and without any warning Voldemort lept into the air, and as Harry blinked his eyes he watched as Voldemort transformed into a large, black, magnificent looking falcon.

Instincts took over, and Harry transformed back into the Lion, ready to attack, but in the seconds it took him to transform he'd lost all sight of his prey. It was only at the last moment, far after too late to prepare himself, did he hear the falcon's cry coming from behind him. Harry was just able to turn his head before the falcon dug it's talons into the flesh of his back.

Wincing in anticipation of the searing pain that would cover his back, he was shocked when instead of pain he felt a kind of soft tingle that ran through his body causing his mane to stand on end. But if he thought that would be the oddest feeling he could have, he soon learned just how wrong he was.

As the tingling sensation dissipated he became aware that his body did not feel quite the same as it had before. Something was different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it would have to wait until Harry found out where that bird had gone.

He searched the skies, trying to find that impossibly large bird circling somewhere above, but after three minutes of searching he found nothing.

Finally sure that it had left, turned around to approach his lion friend. What he saw next shocked him nearly as much as seeing Voldemort a few moments earlier.

His lion friend as he knew it was gone and in it's place stood a sphinx with a full lion's body and large brown and gold tipped wings. Harry had never seen anything like it, even including the book Dumbledore had given him, but it was still a magnificent creature.

Then his eyes went broad as the large brown wings turned black as they pulled away from the lion's body, and soon the sphinx was being torn in two directions, the lion fighting against it's own wings. And then, as though a puzzle had suddenly been solved, Harry understood.

The wings pulled way and began to form it's own body, that of a large black falcon, and leaving behind his lion friend as it first flew up, then circled back down and landed right next to it's counterpart.

As one they transformed again, this time into two wizards. Harry's eyes threatened to leave their sockets as, standing before him was a young Tom Riddle and Harry Potter.

And then, everything went dark.

Harry woke back in Charlie's Office a few moments later, exhausted far beyond anything he'd believed possible before.

He slowly stood up, stretched his legs and neck, and finally released a soft yawn.

Finally he turned around, looking for Charlie, but when he found him he suddenly saw that something was severely wrong. Unless Charlie had grown several feet in the past few hours, something was terribly, terribly wrong.

And then Harry felt the sensation throughout his body, a humming reverberating through his very bones, and it was then that he realised that his vision was not his own, but that of a Lion.

Taken aback, Harry felt his legs begin to give, his body rejecting it's current shape, and that was all it took to release the last bit of energy he had left in him as he fell back to the floor.

He opened his eyes even as the process was coming to an end and he watched as his front paws transformed into hands, the hair on his arms disappearing, and the world itself seemed to glow in a different colour as his eyesight reverted to that of a young boy.

With a final sigh, Harry's eyes closed once again. Even as he felt Charlie covering him in a soft blanket, exhaustion was already taking hold of him and soon he had fallen into a sound and dreamless sleep.

Many hours later Harry awoke back in his own bed still feeling the effects of the quest and quite tired. Still, something had woken him and very quickly he realised it was nature calling.

A few minutes later, as he approached his bed he looked over at Ron, curious about which form he had found. Would it have been a wolf? Maybe. Or perhaps a ram or bull. He could see Ron having horns for some reason.

And what of Hermione. He was sure he knew that answer immediately. She'd be an owl or eagle, something majestic like that.

These questions filled his mind and fed his thoughts as he crawled back in bed, tucked under his covers, and quickly entered the dream world where he and his two best friends met with a wolf, a dog, and a buck, romping and playing the day away.

Coming Soon

Chapter 23


	23. Chapter 23 Hermione's Confession

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 23

Hermione's Confession

Harry awoke at four Monday morning, wide eyed and ready for a new week.

Focused on preparing for the new day, it was only after he got dressed after his morning shower that he realized how early it was. Since Ron's bed had been made, Harry assumed he'd woke up late and everyone else had already gone down to breakfast. But as he put on his watch he stopped, double-checked the time, then laughed at his own foolishness. Looking through the window proved it. The sun hadn't even come up yet. Musing at himself, he headed off for breakfast.

As he descended the last few stairs he heard Ron's voice in the common room talking with Hermione.

"Morning Harry," Ron called, followed by an "Oumph!" as Hermione elbowed him in his side.

"Keep your voice down," she scolded him. "Some students are still trying to sleep."

Ron, rubbing his ribs, ignored her as he asked, "Professor McGonagall just asked us to come get you. She said she's got a few last minute things to go over with us about the Quest."

"Alright," Harry replied brightly. "Where are we meeting her?"

"In that side room next to the staff table. She said it'd only take a couple of minutes."

"Right. Well, let's get going."

So the three of them headed through the portrait hole, and off towards the stairs when Harry suggested they used his own passage. It was right then that he'd realized just how little time he'd spent with them since they'd arrived back at Hogwarts. His first thought was to use the passage to go downstairs, but Ron and Hermione hadn't even thought about it.

"You know," he said as they descended the stone steps, "we need to start hanging out more. We haven't spent much time together since, well, since I started teaching Duelling."

"Well, you've been busy," Hermione commented. "You've got more on your plate than any of us, and you don't have the convenience of a time turner."

"Yeah, why is that?" Ron asked. "With what happened last year you'd probably be able to get one from the ministry without any problems at all."

"No. I thought about it a little when I first came to school, but after what happened the last time I don't want to start thinking 'what if I had used the time turner? That thing opens a can of flubberworms I don't want to deal with."

"I can see that," Hermione replied. "There were a lot of times when I wanted to use it when I shouldn't have and it took all I had not to use it. Thinking back on it, I'm glad I didn't, but back then I was really tempted."

"That's my point. There's just too many temptations that come with it. No, it's no good."

"My point exactly," Hermione added.

"Right. So, that brings us back to where we started. We need to start hanging out more. You know, like the old days. When I think of seeing my mum and dad hanging out by the tree with Sirius and Lupin, I can't help but think that's the way we should be."

"Right. There's a Hogsmeade Weekend coming up this week. We could all go."

"Oh right. Just the five of us," Ron barked as they headed out the ground floor portrait hole.

"No Ron," Hermione replied coldly. "Just the three of us."

"Sure, that's what you say now, but when Davie and Amanda ask to come I'd just like to see you tell them no."

"Right. Like you'd said no to Parvati if she asks."

"Of course I would. Just because we go out on a few dates doesn't make me forget my friends, and I don't go telling her stuff she doesn't need to know either."

"What's that supposed to mean," Hermione replied angrily.

"Just what is says. I'm not the one going and telling people what they have no need to know. But not you. No, you just go and tell _Davie_ all of Harry's secrets like their public knowledge!" Ron said Davie's name as though it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"And if it weren't for Davie we wouldn't know nearly as much as we do, or need I remind you that it was him who found the book with the medallions and the location of the second medallion in America."

"THAT'S IT!"

Harry's face was red with anger. All the pent up frustration of their bickering over the past five years and its recent climax over the past few weeks had finally driven him over the edge. He was not going to be in the middle of their arguments any more.

"We are going to Hogsmeade alone, and we're going to get you two straightened out once and for all. So help me if I have to jinx you into Rugroots I'll do it. And this little bickering stops right now, if not for our friendship then for the school. How do you think it looks to see the two Gryffindor Prefects bickering like first years?"

Both Ron and Hermione were gaping at him, completely stunned by his outburst towards them. Before they could respond, Harry continued.

"And as of right now you two are going to shake hands and make up. There will be no more talking of Davie, Parvati, or Amanda until after this gets settled this weekend and I want to see the both of you acting as though you were friends. Can you do that?"

Ron and Hermione nodded in unison, their mouths still hanging open.

And as quick as a Snitch Harry switched gears, all smiles as they entered the deserted Great Hall he asked genially, "So, did either of you find your forms last night?"

For a moment neither of them answered, so Harry prompted, "Hermione?"

Blinking her eyes as though waking from a dream, she stuttered, "Wha... Yea, I did."

Harry waited for more, but after five seconds of silence he prodded again, "And?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied, blushing.

Ron, who also seemed to come back, smiled broadly. "I know what she is."

"Well? Is anyone going to tell me, or do I have to guess."

But he never got the chance to get an answer as the approached the side door because it opened just then and Charlie and Professor McGonagall bade then in.

Closing the door behind them, Professor McGonagall prompted them to sit on the couch which lay on one side of the room while she and Charlie sat in a pair of chairs across from them.

"I know yesterday was an exhausting day for all three of you, especially you Harry, so I wanted to use this time to help you understand the results and to show you how this will further help you on your way to becoming an Animagus. So, let's begin with you, Ron. We'll start with how your quest began."

"Okay. Well, I started out back at home, waking up in my bed. Ginny had screamed and I hopped out of bed to go help her. It was weird cause I knew for some reason that Mum and Dad weren't home which is odd cause at least one of them is always home in the morning. Anyway, I ran downstairs and the place was wrecked and the front door was busted down. I ran for it and saw Ginny being carried away by a pack of wolves."

"So your little sister was being taken by wolves from your house. Very good. Continue," McGonagall Prompted.

"Right. So I started after her, but of course I was too small and slow to catch up to them. So I reached for my wand, but it was gone. I panicked and just, well, ran after then anyway. Then they all turned and the next thing I know I'm fighting for my life. So there I am, punching and kicking and all of the sudden I started growling, and then the wolves started getting smaller and smaller, and then, just like that, I was kicking their butts. Sorry. What I mean was that I was overpowering them. A few moments later they were all running away and Ginny just walks up to me, gives me a big hug and says, 'thanks, you big bear.' And that was it. I knew right then that I'd become a bear and the next thing I know I'm back in the classroom, still a bear, and then you tapped me with your wand and I passed out, and that's it."

"Very good. Very good indeed. It seems you've embraced the theme of Gryffindor House, speaking of course about our sense of loyalty and bravery. Those are two very prominent aspects of the Bear. Very nice, Mr. Weasley. And now you, Miss Granger."

Hermione sat there looking sheepish, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall prodded.

"It was stupid. It doesn't mean anything," she rebuked defensively.

"Miss Granger. You cannot proceed in your training until you tell me about your Quest and I would rather not have to use a Pensieve in order to do so. Now, if you please, your quest?"

"I was Alice from Alice in Wonderland and I had to chase the rabbit down the hole so I did and then everyone started chasing me and I became the rabbit and that's how it ended and now I'm going to be stuck with long teeth for the rest of my life." She said this all in a single breath, speaking as quickly as possible and ending it with a defiant look that dared anyone to make fun of her.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. That was very informative, it not brief. And now you, Mr. Potter. With as much detail as you can muster," McGonagall added, glancing quickly at Hermione.

Harry went through the whole story with as much detail as he could remember. He noticed that they were all riveted by his story, especially Ron and Herminie, and when he got to the Raven they seemed to gleam at his every word."

"My lord, Mr. Potter, but you did have yourself an adventure. Very interesting, yes. Well, I'm quite certain that I can help you with your training, but before we begin I would suggest you have a word with the Headmaster. I think he could help with a few of those detail better than I. But I'm very proud of you, all of you, truly. It takes a certain kind of Witch or Wizard to become an Animagus and here we find all three of you quite suitable for the job. Very impressive. Well, now that the hard part is through we can return to our previous schedule of two sessions per week. Harry, I'd like you to meet with me on Tuesdays and Charlie on Thursdays. I believe your Occlumency training could be invaluable to you working with both forms and there's no question that Charlie is better suited for that than I. Again, congratulations to you all, and I'll see each of you tomorrow evening, seven o'clock sharp."

They all nodded in agreement and headed back into the Great Hall for breakfast.

After so much happening on Sunday, the rest of the week flew by, and true to their word, everyone told their significant others that they would not be going together to Hogsmeade for the weekend.

Harry found it very hard telling Amanda that she would not be invited to come with them to Hogsmeade. He felt as though he were letting her down, and her response, though completely expected, was still heartbreaking. And the worst part for him was that he didn't really want to have to spend this time exclusively with Ron and Hermione. Not that he didn't like the idea of spending the time with them, but he didn't like having to exclude Amanda from the trip. He told her as much and she understood, but neither was happy about it.

By the time Friday came along, Harry found himself split somewhere between excitement at spending a full weekend with his two best friends and depression for not having any time to spend with Amanda. So when Dumbledore stood at the start of breakfast, Harry's heart leapt with excitement at the headmaster's announcement.

"After the events which have happened over the past few weeks, both here at the school and throughout the rest of the nation, I have decided that we are in need of some serious cheering up. Therefore, I have decided that, instead of our standard Halloween celebration, we shall have a Formal Halloween Ball."

There was an immediate round of applause at this announcement, and all but Hermione seemed pleased by the news.

"Depending on how well things progress, we may consider making this a permanent change to the yearly schedule, but then, I'm getting ahead of myself. Now, a few notices regarding the Ball. First and foremost, the Ball, or Balls as would be more accurate, will be held in three locations throughout the school. Our First, second, and third year students will meet in Professor Firenze's Divination classroom where you will enjoy a relaxing, outdoor style Ball."

A roar of applause erupted from the younger students, many yelling and whistling until Dumbledore settled them down with a wave of his hand.

"For our forth and fifth year students, our new Duelling classroom will host a ball celebrating the mystery and suspense that brings out the inner child in us all. Be forewarned, for I am told that our local poltergeist has offered to aid in the decorations."

A mix of applause and moans filled the room as many of the students pondered what kind of mischief Peeves could cause if his help was actually accepted for decorating the Ballroom.

"And finally," Dumbledore added before the noise could get too loud, "for our eldest students I will be personally be overseeing the decorating of the Great Hall to recreate the same ball that was hosted at the Ministry of Magic's Grand Ballroom in celebration of the Minister's inauguration back in 1990."

This caught Harry's attention, noting that Fudge was elected to the position just one year before he arrived at Hogwarts. Until just then, the timing had never occurred to him. Harry blew of the thought just then and turned his attention back to the Dumbledore as he continued.

"…and dinner will be served promptly at six, followed by a short show performed by the school ghosts, with the floor being opened for dancing afterwards. Curfew will be extended to ten thirty for all students of third year and below and midnight for our fourth and fifth years. All sixth and seventh year students will be allowed to remain until the end of the ball at three."

A great deal of hushed whispering drifted through the Hall, most especially amongst the sixth and seventh year students.

"And finally," Dumbledore called a bit louder, getting everyone's undivided attention once again, "since the Halloween ball will be taking place next Thursday, I felt it might be a nice way to start a three day, Hogsmeade weekend."

If the celebration before was loud, it was nothing compared to the eruption that flooded the room this time. Two consecutive weeks of Hogsmeade weekends could not have come at a better time, especially for Harry.

All that free time, he thought. What a wonderful weekend he could have. Thursday night with Amanda at the ball, then back to the office, and then two more days of rest and relaxation before his weekly lessons on Sunday.

A broad smile came over Harry's face that would not go away, even more so when he, Ron, and Hermione all agreed that Saturday would be enough time to spend together which meant that they could take their dates to Hogsmeade on Sunday. Of course Harry would only get a few hours between his lessons this week, but it was just a short time until next week, and that was more than he could ask for.

Friday had flown by after that, and soon enough Harry, Ron, and Hermione were passing by Mr. Filch and walking along the path to Hogsmeade. For a while it seemed a bit uncomfortable, the three of them together with nothing to talk about.

Ever since they had arrived at school their paths had split in different directions, and now they had thrust themselves back together and they couldn't remember how to act around each other. Of course, some of this was likely from the sexual tension between Ron and Hermione, but that couldn't hardly account for all of it.

As they walked past the lake and along the forest, Harry decided to open a general topic that they could all discuss, hoping maybe it would relax them a bit.

"So, I was thinking about hosting a duelling competition after the start of the new year. You know, a kind of tournament between the different houses."

"You mean like those wrestling and karate competitions they have in the Muggle world?" Hermione asked.

"Exactly. We could have an open audition for each house and the best two of each year would represent their house. Then we could have a series of monthly competitions with the finale at the end of the school year."

"I like it," added Ron, his eye's gleaming. "It would give me a chance to show Malfoy a thing or two."

"I hope you do, cause I sure as heck can't participate, being the professor and all,"

"Why not?" cried Ron.

"Because he's the one putting the competition together, and frankly there's no students in the school that could hold a torch to him. For god's sake, Ron, he's getting lessons from Dumbledore himself."

"So what? He's supposed to be punished for learning from the master? Come on…"

"Don't worry about it, Ron," Harry interrupted. "I'm more than happy to be out of the spotlight on this one. Honestly, as long as a non-Slytherin wins, I'll be happy and proud of the whole bunch. I mean, it's weird but I really like teaching."

And he really had. He hadn't thought about it much recently, but as he thought back over the past few months he realized that he really loved teaching. Maybe he'd stay on after graduating and try teaching for a few years. Then again, he might become an Auror, or a Quidditch champion, or one of another half dozen other things that crossed his mind.

"No way he could have done it," Hermione continued as Harry brought his attention back to the three of them.

"Who did what?" asked a slightly confused Harry.

"Dudley," answered Hermione. "Ron is convinced he was the one that went after the owls, but I don't think so. In fact, I'm positive of it."

"And how could you be so positive about it?" Ron replied gruffly.

"Well, for one thing Dumbledore doesn't think he did it, and when was the last time Dumbledore was wrong about something like this?"

"Are you bonkers? He's almost always wrong about things like this? I mean, don't get me wrong, Dumbledore's the greatest wizard alive, but we've learned about things tons of times before him, and what about not telling Harry about the whole telepathy thing between Harry and You-Know-Who."

"He had his reasons, Ron, and for God's sake can't you just say his name?"

"Okay, that's it," Harry said softly. "This is what I'm talking about, right now. You two have been at each other's throats for too long. We're going to walk right into The Three Broomsticks and we're not leaving until you two get all this stuff settled."

Ron and Hermione were silent the rest of the way to Hogsmeade which, luckily, was only another five minute's walk.

Harry let them in and, with a few extra sickles, was able to get them a private room upstairs.

It was a small room, about the same size as Harry's room back on Privet Drive, but with only six chairs and a small table, it didn't feel cramped. A small window on the far side provided a view of the main road of Hogsmeade.

They all remained quiet until after the Butterbeers arrived. Harry waited until the door closed, then launched at both of them.

"Okay, we're going to get this over with once and for all. I don't care if we're here till bloody Christmas. Nobody leaves until everything's out and all resolved. Is that clear?"

"Yes," they said in unison, both looking like scorned puppies.

"Good. Ron, you're first, since it seems you're upset with both of us."

Ron looked at both of them, shots of fire bursting in his eyes. Harry could tell he was going to explode and he was going to make sure it happened. That would be the only way to get things out in the open.

"Come on Ron, give. What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know," he spat back.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Harry retorted.

"Just what I said. What's going on with you two?"

"And just what is it we're supposed to have done?" demanded Hermione.

"Bloody hell," Ron cried. "I can't believe you two are so thick about it you can't see it for yourselves. It's those ruddy Americans. Two weeks after they arrive their in your pants, snogging you and making you…"

"SMACK!"

Hermione's slap echoed through the room as Ron reached his hand up to his face, rubbing where his cheeks burned bright red.

"You know what, you can slap me all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that they're just snogging you to get to Har…"

"SMACK!" came Hermione's hand again, matching Ron's right cheek to his left.

"Stop slapping me!" he cried loudly. Harry would have laughed his head off if the situation weren't so serious.

"Then you stop saying that. Davie and I have never _snogged_ before, not that it's any of your business."

"Now that you mention it," interrupted Harry, "What's your problem with them anyhow?"

"You really don't see it, do you?" Ron asked, his astonishment both blaring in his tone of voice and written all over his face. "You don't think it's just a bit coincidental that these strangers come in, and right off the bat two of them just happen to start dating you, and they all make friends with Dudley? You guys seriously don't see what's wrong with this picture?"

"No, Ron, we don't," replied Hermione.

Harry nodded in agreement, though he thought he had an idea where Ron was going.

"I can't believe you two are this dim," Ron replied, shaking his head. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe they were plants by You-Know-Who? I mean honestly, don't you think it's odd that there's only a dozen of them, three hundred plus students here, and yet two of them just happen to hook up with you?"

"Maybe they just have good taste," spat Hermione. "After all, I don't see you dating one of them."

It was obvious to Harry that this was supposed to be a sharp jab to Ron's pride, so it was a bit of a surprise when Ron smiled at her.

"But they did. I've had two of those girls hitting on me every day for the first two weeks before I finally told them to bugger off. You see, they tried to get to all three of us."

"And why did you turn them down? What do you have against Americans?"

"Nothing. I think they're just fine. I just think it's suspicious that it only took them two weeks to have you two completely bamboozled. Now we've got them knowing all Harry's business, looking for the medallions, and going off like they've been here all the time. It's just the type of thing You-Know-Who would do."

"Wait a minute," said Harry. Some things were starting to fall into place in areas Harry didn't like. "Are you saying that Voldemort might have sent the whole group here?"

"Well it looks like someone's decided to see the obvious," Ron replied sharply.

"But Dumbledore approved it. He wouldn't have done that if he thought that there would be any danger from them, especially now."

"But they're foreigners. Not even Dumbledore could watch over the whole world. What if all that activity over the summer was to cover up that he was talking to them over there."

"Oh for God's sake," Hermione finally shouted. "They're not working for Voldemort. He didn't have anything to do with them coming here."

"How do you know? How can any of us be sure? For all you know, this Davie character is just smooching with you to keep tabs on Harry?"

"What? You don't think a guy can just think I'm attractive?" Hermione cried. "Am I really that repulsive to you, or are you just so bloody blind that you can't see a good thing when it's right in front of you."

"Blind? Me? You're the one who's going and telling all of our secrets to the first guy you meet. You've known him for what, two months now? And miraculously he finds the book on the medallions, finds out where the map is, and a week later he's coming up with news that he's found the second medallion. And you just think he's all that, like he's the greatest. You just don't see him for what he is."

"Ron," Hermione said softly, "I've been with Davie for nearly five months."

Harry and Ron stood dumbfounded.

Finally, after a few moments of prolonged silence, a soft squeak of a noise came from Ron, apparently trying to respond but too shocked to speak.

"That's right. We've been together since before school started."

"B-but, how's that possible," Harry managed to croak.

"Because I met him in the States, and that's how I know they're not working for Voldemort. It wasn't his idea they come here, it was mine," she declared proudly.

If Harry and Ron thought they were confused before, they were completely lost now.

"I'll explain, and I'll use small words so even Ron can understand."

Ron would've responded, but he was still recovering from her previous announcement and hadn't even noticed the insult.

"When Mum and Dad took me over to the states, we started out in San Francisco and worked our way east. Well, it was during that first week that I met Davie, and we got along really well right from the start. He showed me how to email him on the computer, and it wasn't long before we were writing to each other every day, sometimes two or three a day."

"Do you have any idea what the blood heck she's talking about?" Ron asked Harry.

"Muggle stuff," Harry replied quickly.

"So we would visit a few hours each time I went back, and by the end of July we were officially dating. But then he realized that it wouldn't be long before we'd have to go back to school, and that's when I had the idea that he could come here."

"So you organized a whole group of kids to come to Hogwarts just so you could be with that git?" Ron exclaimed.

"No, Ron, I didn't. I simply wanted to see if I could invite just him to come to our school, and that's when I wrote Dumbledore and asked if he could come here for a year. Well, initially he wasn't that happy with the idea and we didn't think he'd say yes. Then, just before your birthday he wrote me back and said that, if the Americans were truly interested, he would speak to Professor David and he'd set it up. That's how the whole group got started."

"So Voldemort couldn't have had anything to do with it cause he wasn't even involved. It was between you and Dumbledore. But then why didn't you tell us sooner?" Harry wasn't sure why, but he felt somehow betrayed that Hermione hadn't said anything earlier about it.

"Because I didn't want you two going off on how I'd done all this just to be with Davie."

"But that's exactly why you did it. You just said so."

"I did it for lots of reasons, Ron, and yes being with him was one of them, but it wasn't the only one."

"Alright. Give me one other good reason why he's here and I'll shut up about it forever."

"Fine," Hermione snapped. "I did it cause he'd learn more about magic at Hogwarts in one year than he did in his first three years in America. I did it so he could put on his college applications that he explored other countries and their traditions. I did it because I thought it would be one of the only ways he'd be able to get a wand, and he deserves one. I did it cause I didn't want him to have to got back to living with his ungrateful grandparents who only keep him cause they get paid by their government for it. I did it, Ronald, because over there he's treated the same way Harry is treated at the Dursleys and Davie deserves better than that. He deserves to have friends who'd take care of him and that's exactly what I plan to do. It's not about his being my boyfriend; it's about him being my friend."

Momentarily stumped, Ron finally replied grumpily and with gritted teeth, "I only said one reason."

For half a minute they stood there, looking at each other and not saying a word. Then, as though a dam had broken, they all erupted in laughter, baffled at their own silliness.

Another round of butterbeers came and the subject moved from Davie to Amanda, though not in accusation as with Davie, but more in curiosity. Harry told his friends all about her, and Hermione told them all about Davie, and Ron even dropped a few small tidbitts about Parvati.

For the rest of the day it was just the three of them, laughing and joking and reminding themselves why they were truly the best of friends. Even after they got back to Hogwarts they spent the rest of the day together in Harry's office playing Exploding Snaps and talking the night away.

They were so engrossed in their own activities that none of them even noticed the classroom door creak open as Dudley's head poked around, watching them for several moments before re-closing the door.

Harry's head whipped around as the lock closed, but when he saw that no one was there, he brushed it off and turned his attention back to his best friends.

That night, after Hermione headed up to her room, Ron and Harry sat in bed, talking of the fun they'd had when Ron became suddenly very quiet. He stayed like this for several minutes, and when he finally he spoke up Harry knew that what Ron had to say was a long time coming.

"Harry, do you think I'll ever have a chance with her?"

It took Harry a second to adjust to the question, but after a moment he replied, "I'm not sure. When Cho and I got together I thought it would be the greatest thing in the world. Now that I look back on things I can't figure how I ever thought things could work out between us. Maybe you two are different, maybe not. But if I were you, I'd stop worrying about what might be and start looking at what is."

"What do you mean?"

"Parvati's a nice girl, and she's pretty smart. And you can't tell me you don't like walking around with her on your arm. If I were you, I'd stop thinking about Hermione cause it doesn't look like she and Davie are going to break up any time soon. You should accept things for how they are and be grateful for what you have."

"But I barely even know her." Ron shook his head, rubbing his temples.

"Well you've got all day tomorrow to find out, and I can't imagine a better setting than the Halloween Ball to explore new possibilities. Who knows where things might lead from there. Maybe you'll find out there's nobody out there for you but Hermione. Then again, you just might find out that Parvati's everything you could have wanted but never stopped to look for. Give her a chance. You never know."

Ron nodded his head.

"Maybe you're right, Harry. I guess we'll see what happens."

And with those final words Ron turned over, and seconds later he was snoring up a storm.

Harry's thoughts turned to Amanda and the day they had laid out for them. A smile crept over his face.

Two years ago he felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be with a girl like Cho and now he couldn't imagine himself with her. But Amanda, sweet, beautiful Amanda...

And soon Harry was swept away by his own expectations of his blossoming relationship with this incredible American girl he knew so little of, yet cared for so deeply. Tomorrow he'd talk to her, ask her more about herself, and open himself to all the possibilities that were held behind those beautiful blue eyes.

Coming Soon

Chapter 24

The Halloween Ball


	24. Chapter 24 The Holloween Ball

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 24

The Halloween Ball

Having settled so many of their problems the day before, Harry suggested that they all go together to shop for the Halloween ball. They all agreed, and at nine o'clock Sunday morning they gathered at the front door of the castle.

Amanda and Davie were the first to arrive, followed by Ron and Hermione, with Parvati dropping in a few moments later.

Everyone said their hellos, and then they headed outside, and all gasped in delight. The previous night brought the year's first snowfall and blanketing the grounds a soft white snow.

Harry loved this time of year, not only because of how things looked, but also because ever since he arrived at Hogwarts he could always enjoy the hot fire, something that was not easily done back at Privet Drive.

But quickly his mind moved away from the snow and onto his plan for the day which would start the moment they met Mr. Filch.

Timing was of the essence so he made his way to the front of the pack, pausing in front of Filch as he waited for his name to be checked off.

After Filch waved him on, Harry began patting down his cloak, checking the pockets while Filch was loudly reminding Amanda of what time she was required back on the grounds. Knowing Filch, it wasn't very likely that either of them would live that day down.

Suddenly, Harry's eyes went wide and he stared hard at Ron. Ron looked up and knew immediately something was wrong. Harry again patted his robe and mouthed the words "No map" to him. Ron's eyes lit up. He nodded his head, turned to Parvati and excused himself, then ran back to the Gryffindor tower for the map.

While they waited for Ron to come back, Harry pulled a small pouch of Galleons from one of his pockets, approached Parvati, and dropped it in her hand.

"What's this for?" she asked, abashed at Harry's bluntness.

"It's a hundred Galleons. Fifty for you, fifty for Ron. Get him something nice to wear. If he asks, you saved it up doing chores or something."

Not one to argue when given free money, she smiled back and quickly pocketed the money.

Five minutes later Ron was back, gave Harry the Map which was right in the chest where he left it, and Harry stashed it into his inside pocket.

An hour later they were walking down the snow-drenched streets of Hogsmeade, three handsome couples walking arm in arm.

It was obvious to Harry that Ron still didn't like Davie but it seemed he was at least willing to keep his emotions to himself. Still, Harry could feel Ron's distrustful eyes falling over Amanda from time to time and he began to understand just how little he trusted her. Maybe it was Americans in general, or maybe Ron was just jealous of all the time she was spending with him. Either way, it didn't look like Ron was likely to soften up to her anytime soon.

Still, for the most part they were cordial to each other and they had a pleasant time in town.

First on the agenda, as always, was to head to the three broomsticks for a round of butterbeers followed by a trip to Honeydukes and a months supply of treats for everyone.

Honeydukes was one of Harry's favourite places to take Ron because it was the one place where he could spend money and Ron wouldn't take it the wrong way. They spent nearly an hour getting all sorts of treats from Gummy Snakes that slithered and Cotton Candy Medusa's to the classic Bernie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs, of which Harry got none. The last thing he wanted was to get a frog and find his face plastered on one of those silly cards.

When they finally left Honeydukes their bags were filled with all kinds of treats and Ron, Harry, and Davie thought their days could only get better from there. An hour later, however, they were begging to go back to school for homework.

They had only made it a few feet from the shop when, as a collective group, all three girls gasped and ran straight for a neighbouring window and pawed at the tailored dresses and suits which were dancing across a miniature dance floor.

Before they could utter a single word, all three boys were swept in with the girls where they were forced to judge each of the dresses before the girls tried them on. Then, after gathering eight to ten dresses each, both Hermione and Pavarti began trying them on, both becoming models for a day.

Harry, however, was held in the dark because Amanda had gathered her dresses too quickly for Harry to have gotten a good look. And, since she tried them all on behind the cover of a screen, Harry never got a chance to see what they looked like, though he hadn't felt too bad about it since the other two boys didn't much seem to enjoy the show.

Though the hours flew by for the girls, trying on one dress after another, the boys felt as though the day couldn't have seemed longer. One dress looked as good as the next to them, yet somehow the girls seemed to find all manners of different problems with the dresses. This one was too short, the next too long. Too many ruffles, not enough, too bland, too bright, too many decisions for them to make. The boys shook their heads with disgust.

It felt like a year before the girls finally made their choices, though truly it was less than three hours, and when they were finally rung at the registers the boys shared a collective sigh, thankful that it was finally over.

They never saw it coming.

The moment they received their receipts and change, each of the girls grabbed their men and brought them over to the seamstresses. Soon there were tapes flying about, taking measurements of their arms, legs, waist, chest, and several other inappropriate places Harry wouldn't touch in public.

And as suddenly as they appeared they vanished, and with a snap of the fingers all manners of different suits and tuxes began wrapping themselves around the boys, then vanishing when the girls shook their heads.

Harry got off mildly compared to Ron and Davie, each having had to try on three or four dozen outfits before their girls would narrow it down to a final selection of four. Luckily Amanda found Harry could wear just about anything and look nice, so before Ron and Davie even finished their first go-around of selections he was at the counter paying the thirty eight galleons for his and another forty-seven for Amanda's. Harry only prayed that she had given Parvati enough to cover both their outfits.

As it turned out, Parvati's and Ron's totalled together at a hundred and twenty galleons, though Parvati hadn't asked for another Knutt. Hermione and Davie's outfits were at the bottom of the price list at an even thirty-one Galleons a piece.

With a bag full of treats in one hand and receipts for six sets of clothes, set to be tailored and delivered by ten o'clock that night, the six of them suddenly found themselves without direction, trying to figure out what they could all do together. Finally Hermione suggested they go to the Hogsmeade-Hogwarts Art and History Museum.

Hermione and Davie headed deep into the museum, stopping at each and every piece of art or historical piece and staring, talking adamantly to each other and telling jokes that only they would have found funny. They almost seemed more entranced with where they were than who they were with, although they were holding hands when they walked off on their own.

Ron and Harry, along with Parvati and Amanda, seemed more content with aimlessly walking around and talking to each other without paying much attention to what they were passing, though Harry couldn't help but catch the growing theme of the place.

As he entered the main hall there were basic descriptions of the Hogwarts and Hogsmeade area before it was occupied. Just as Harry remembered it, it was a very nice, quiet, and serene kind of place. Even after the castle was built it seemed to accept the adjustment of a few visitors easily.

The next exhibit displayed the area before Hogsmeade but After Hogwarts and the addition of the animals in the forbidden forest. It was a bit unnerving to see just how strongly the environment changed. Below was a plaque which mentioned the mystery of the forest becoming so dark and dangerous. Harry put it in the back of his mind that, if he survived the final showdown with Voldemort, He would come back and give some of the basic details about how things had changed so much.

Thoroughly depressed by the display, Harry ignored the rest of the exhibits and continued through the museum without taking his eyes off Amanda.

After only fifteen minutes they were all ready to leave, so Harry asked one of the attendants to let Hermione and Davie know that they'd be waiting for them back at the Three Broomsticks in the same room they had been in yesterday. She agreed, and Harry tipped her a sickle for the trouble.

They were in the room for more than an hour before Hermione and Davie showed up, starry-eyed with broad smiles.

Ron and Parvati were at the table talking about the Quidditch finals of the previous year and debating over which team would have the best chances of winning the cup the following year.

Meanwhile, Harry and Amanda were sitting together at the window and watching the traffic passing below, though they weren't paying much attention to the people passing by nearly as much as they were to each other. They hadn't even noticed when Hermione and Davie had walked in downstairs.

They all came together at the table, drinking butterbeers and chatting the day away until it was time to go back to Hogwarts. They stayed together all the way through the Great Hall where Harry said goodnight to the rest of them and escorted Amanda through the portrait and upstairs to his classroom.

A few minutes later they emerged, turned fast for the office and took two steps before Harry stopped in his tracks. He turned around just in time to see the back of a cloak pass through the door before it shut. He sprinted to the door, but when he looked outside he found the hallway completely deserted.

Whoever it was, they were long gone now. It was probably some first year trying to find a copy of next week's test. Of course he and Snape hadn't written it yet, so they would have found nothing.

He smiled to himself, then turned back and brought Amanda into his office for a little one-on-one training.

In all the excitement for the next week, each day seemed to last forever. The anticipation of the ball was in everyone's mind so that by Tuesday night, each student seemed desperate for the day to end.

Wednesday was the worst for Harry because Dudley managed to find himself the centre of attention for yet another school disaster.

A group of Slytherins and Ravenclaws were arguing about prospective outcome for the upcoming game between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. It was abruptly ended when Dudley bumped into one of Slytherins. Soon the Slytherins and Ravenclaws were working together, casting all sorts of jinxes on him until Cho showed up and scattered them, sending Dudley to the Hospital wing.

By itself this wouldn't have been a problem for Harry, but less than an hour after dinner that night he was called to Dumbledore's office where he learned that all but two of the students involved in his attack had found themselves victims of theft. Most of them had lost their dress clothes for the ball, and two of them had lost their pets.

A thorough search of the grounds discovered all of the stolen items, except for the two pets, piled up on the other side of the lake, burnt to cinders and barely identifiable without magic.

Once again Dumbledore asked Harry to watch his cousin, "a bit closer this time," Dumbledore had added with a knowing look, and Harry found himself assigned as Dudley's personal chaperone.

Since he would now have to look after Dudley almost all the time, his first objective was to get Dudley a date for the ball. That way he could spend time with Amanda and use the excuse of Dudley's privacy when he ditched him. This, however, was much easier said than done. Nearly all of the Hogwarts students believed that Dudley was responsible for the attack in the Owlery. Most of the owls that had been left with some chance at life, including Aarol, were still in the Hospital wing being watched over carefully by Professor Grubbly-Plank.

Even the Americans wanted nothing to do with him, and this made Harry's task of pawning him off on some unsuspecting girl all the harder. Eventually, he did find one candidate, Luna Lovegood.

Oddly enough, she volunteered for the assignment and actually said she didn't think Dudley did it.

"Oh no, I don't think he could've done it even if he wanted to, which he wouldn't, now would he," she drawled on in her heavy voice.

"Well, if you really want to," Harry said, holding back his astonishment.

"Sure. I've never really had a chance to meet a Slyder before. It might be fun. Maybe I could talk him into doing an interview for my dad's paper if I give him a kiss," she added sheepishly.

Harry nodded before making a quick exit, praying he could escape before he she told him what she'd do for an exclusive and ended up losing his lunch.

He told Dudley of his success and got the exact response he'd expected.

"Loony Luna? Have you completely lost it? I'd be better off going out with Professor McGonagall."

Harry, in no mood to argue, countered quickly, "Well, that's the only choice you've got. Either take it or stay in your dorm all night, I don't care. But I won't have you tagging along with me all night. Now Loon, err, Luna is a nice girl and she's willing to see past your thousands of flaws and go with you to the ball. Take it or leave it. Your choice."

"I'll have to think about…"

"No!" Harry interrupted. "Right now. Go with her or stay in. Choose."

"I don't know. I mean, she's so…"

"ARE YOU TAKING HER OR NOT!" cried Harry. His patience for Dudley was long since up.

"FINE! I'll go with her."

"Good. Now I've got other stuff to get to. I'll see you after dinner," he finished, then turned and left before Dudley could utter a word. He wouldn't stay to see how Dudley pawed for sympathy. Not this time.

Thursday morning was ablaze with excitement. Already the corridors were being prepared for the festivities and the whole castle seemed to be alive with anticipation. Even the ghosts seemed to be brighter and excited by the upcoming ball.

Harry didn't want to drag down the day with a lot of paperwork so he asked Snape if he'd mind letting the students practice their actual duelling skills against each other, and Snape agreed.

"I doubt anyone would produce a worthy paper today in any event. I'd rather not waste my time having to repeat myself on Monday."

Harry just nodded in agreement. Snape had become more casual with Harry, accepting his role as a Deputy Professor, but his distaste for the students in general had not wavered much, and Harry felt it was likely Snape was still holding back. For this he was grateful because if Snape ever went loose on what he thought, Harry just might have to duel him for real.

Lunch was downed quickly and everyone was done with classes at two sharp. At ten minutes after the halls were deserted by all except a few professors running about to finish any last minute preparations for the ball.

Harry was dressed and ready to head down to the Hall before either Ron or Hermione. Ron took nearly thirty minutes longer than Harry. When he finally came down he looked as nervous as when he'd first heard his dad had been attacked by a snake the previous year.

"What's going on with you?" Harry asked.

"Wh-what?" Ron said, stumbling over his words. "Nothing. Nothings wrong. Nothing at all, thank you."

"Right. And I'm a Horntailed Dragon."

Ron made for a retort but at that moment Hermione came around the steps of the girls Dorm-room and left both boys completely speechless.

She was wearing a long, silky black dress which conformed to a figure neither boy had ever known she had. Strapless, only her womanly curves held the dress up, though there was no question of it falling. Never had Cho looked as sensual as Hermione did just then and for the first time Harry truly understood why Ron was so crazy over her. If it weren't for his having Amanda he would've had some very questionable thoughts.

With black high-heels and her hair both straightened and pulled back into a ponytail, her shoulders glistened against the light and made the boys hearts beat at unhealthy rates. Long black gloves rounded out the perfect outfit.

"Hello boys," she cooed seductively. "Ready for the ball."

"Mmm," the boys replied together.

"Well then, I guess we're almost ready. Parvati will meet be down in a minute." Nothing could have shaken her smile off her, Harry couldn't help but look at her as a woman instead of the snippy little girl he'd met on the Hogwarts express those six years earlier.

Ron was caught up as well, but when he heard a soft cough from the stairway his eyes diverted just long enough to catch a glimpse at his date. Suddenly, all thoughts of Hermione had vanished.

Parvati was wearing a long, billowing red dress which split as is draped over her shoulders, showing off the crease of her back and exposing an eye-popping amount of flesh. A pair of crimson heels and a fully blossomed rose in her hair completed the look and left Ron completely speechless.

Harry looked back and forth between the two girls and wondered what Amanda would look like. Surely she would not be as elegant as these two. Of course she would look nice in anything she wore, but for some reason he couldn't imagine her wearing something quite so flashy. It just wasn't her style. Still, he was anxious to see her so he clapped his hands, adored them both with a half dozen praises for their outfits, then began herding them out the portrait hole and to his passageway.

When they were all in the tunnel Harry turned to Ron and nodded, holding the girls back.

Curious, the girls looked at each other in wonderment, but they soon got their answer when Ron pulled out his wand and conjured two large, square metal plates and handed them to Harry. Harry then used his own wand to enchant the plates before dropping then on the steps. There was no sound.

Again the girls looked puzzled until Ron put his hand out for Parvati and stepped onto one of the plates, guiding her to stand beside him. As soon as both of her feet were planted, Ron said softly "_Deorsum_" and the plate began to slowly descend the stairs, smooth as silk.

Harry stepped forward onto the second plate and held his hand out for Hermione who followed in suite. He gave the command and soon they too were riding it down the passage.

"Ron and I thought this would be easier than walking down all those steps with your nice dresses. This way they won't get wrinkled."

Hermione smiled back. "That was awfully thoughtful of you," she replied. Then she bent over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Even knowing that he would never get together with her, Harry still blushed from the kiss and several thoughts regarding how beautiful she looked crossed his mind as they descended the corridor.

They came to a light stop at the bottom of the corridor and found Ron holding the portrait open for them. Hermione stepped out first, giving Ron a courteous nod, then gave way to Harry who stepped out, aimed his wand, and whispered "_Casso_" and the two plates disappeared. Then he closed the door behind him and stuck his arm out which Hermione gladly encased in her own. Ron and Parvati had already done so and were walking towards the Great Hall

Upon entering the Hall Harry allowed a soft gasp to escape at the wonderment of the new hall. Where once lay four large benches there were now forty large tables, all ivory white and glistening from their fine polish.

Above the sky was filled with hundreds of small pumpkins and squashes, each carved in their own unique way and lit so that their eyes and mouths could provide enough light to fill the hall.

Each of the house banners had vanished and in their places were banners of the season, with only one Hogwarts banner which rested above the much smaller staff table. In front of the staff table and off to the right resided a small platform on which were several wizards music instruments, all identified as belonging to the Weird Sisters. Dumbledore had definitely gone all out for this.

And finally, taking up the largest amount of space in the hall was the dance floor, sparkling with floating fairy-dust and small spotlights floating from some unseen lamps.

It was truly a picture-perfect scene and could not have looked more majestic. Everything just looked so perfect.

Harry felt a light tug on his arm and realized that Hermione was trying to pull him towards the front of the hall. When he looked where she was leading him he understood what her impatience was all about.

Davie was standing at the other end of the great hall, talking with a girl Harry didn't recognize when he suddenly stopped talking as he watched Hermione enter the hall. He smiled broadly as as Hermione rush into waiting his arms, gave him a long, deep, sensual kiss before she finally broke away, dancing around in front of him and showing off her new dress.

Meanwhile Harry began looking for Amanda, but he didn't look long before he realized his foolishness. She was the unknown girl standing next to Davie.

Harry had to take a double-take look at her, looking straight into her eyes to be sure it was her. She looked so completely different in all the best ways.

He started with her face which was, for the first time he could remember, made up. It was only a small amount of eye shadow and lip-gloss, and her eyelashes seemed a bit longer, but it was nothing compared to the change in her hair. Now flowing freely over her shoulders and streaked black over blonde, it was a transformation that by itself was incredible.

But none of this compared to the change which occurred when he looked at her figure in that dress. Expecting a short shirt or skirt with a top, he never expected to find her dressed in a long, billowing white dress, glittered around the fine silk ruffles which wrapped around the length of the dress. A single white rose was pinned over her left breast which itself was all but exposed with such a skin-tight dress.

Harry was entranced. He'd never imagined that Amanda could look so elegant and beautiful. It reminded him of Cinderella, only she was the princess and he was a lowly peasant. But apparently Amanda saw things differently.

She approached him with purpose, and before he could say one thing about how nice she looked he was suddenly in her grasp, taken deep into a lingering kiss which seemed to obliterate the rest of the world. Now it was only him and her, embracing each other as though their lives depended on it and kissing as though it was their only salvation.

A sharp slap on the shoulder broke Harry out of it and made him turn around, searching for the git that had broken him away from her embrace. It was Hermione, but when he saw the reason he responded not with anger but gratitude. Dumbledore had entered the Great Hall and was heading straight for them.

By the time he was within ten feet, Harry could feel his face turning beet red.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, Miss Johnson."

"Afternoo…" Harry squeaked. Coughing, he tried again, "Good afternoon Headmaster."

"Harry, I just wanted to drop by to inform you that due to this weekend's events I thought it would be best we met next Sunday."

Harry smiled. "That would be nice, Sir."

"Very good. Also, as we will only have two of our staff at the table today, you and Miss Johnson here are invited to eat with us, if you like."

Harry looked at Amanda. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, then Harry nodded and replied, "That would be very nice Headmaster."

"We welcome you. However, there is one rule I must insist upon. No formal titles are to be used."

Harry paused for a moment before replying, "Yes sir."

"Very good. I believe we should have many of the students coming in over the next few minutes, so I have a few last minute things to attend to. I will see you in a few minutes."

"Right. Until then," Harry smiled, and Dumbledore turned to continue his business.

Harry told Ron and Hermione of this development which they took in stride. Ron was too engrossed with Parvati to think about it and Hermione simply replied, "Well, I guess that makes sense. And while you're up there you can ask him if he knows anything about the whereabouts of the Medallions."

"Oh, come on Harry. You're not going to waste a perfectly wonderful night talking shop with the boss, are you?" Amanda asked seductively, an index finger tickling under his chin.

"Uh, no. No, of course not. There will be plenty of time to talk to him during our training session next Sunday."

Hermione gave Amanda a quick snarl, but Davie pulled her into a kiss before Harry and Amanda were able to notice.

So Harry and Amanda sat down at the Staff table, just to the right of Dumbledore, with place settings for two other professors to Dumbledore's left. Harry knew that the first would be for Snape, but he was curious who the other would be for. When he found out who it was, he felt truly ridiculous. Of course, it was the American Professor, David.

The students filed in slowly but regularly, the first arriving moments after Harry and Hermione and while the late arrivals didn't show until just before dinner. In the meantime, many of the students were milling about on the outside of the dance floor, drinking pumpkin juice and butterbeers, snacking on crackers and a large bowl of Bernie Botts Every Flavour Beans, and comparing outfits, their choice of dates, and many Harry noticed were sneaking peeks at Amanda.

Each time this would happen Harry couldn't help but give a little smile before turning back to his conversation with Dumbledore or David.

But when Malfoy walked in with Pansy Parkinson wearing a dress that showed more flesh than cloth. It was a Racy black dress which looked a lot more like a pair of silk draped sewn together at the waist with a V line slit running all the way down to her navel and a matching one revealing just as much of her back.

Harry hadn't seen so much of the female body since his biology classes at his Muggle school. And seeing it in real life for the first time from Pansy, Harry thought it was possible he just might throw up.

And there was Malfoy, Smiling like she were the Queen of England, yet more disturbing was the look he gave Amanda. It wasn't snide or demeaning, nor was it flirtatious. It was something different. Something he couldn't put his finger on, but he was sure that he didn't like it. When he turned to look at her he found she was getting up.

"Where you going?" he asked somewhat despondently.

"I just wanted to get us some butterbeers," she replied with a smile.

Harry smiled and nodded, turning his attention back to Dumbledore, but when he saw out of the corner of his eye that Malfoy was on his way to the drink table Harry turned his attention back to her and found her just turning back. She had two bottles in her hand and ignored Malfoy as he walked past her, whistling. Harry just smiled.

The dinner that came that night was second to none. Normally they would have a great feast with turkey and ham and tons of stuffing, pumpkin pies and cakes. But what they brought instead was beyond imagination. T-bone steaks, crabs and miniature lobsters, duck and lamb chops for the main course with all types of pasta, salads galore, exotic fruits and pies of so many variations it took some longer to decide what to eat than it did to finish it.

Harry could see Ron over at his table with Hermione, doing his best to be polite with such a glorious feast in front of him. And the pies and cakes were second to none. All kinds of berry pies, Apple pies, Lemon Meringue, even some ice-cream pies. Chocolate and vanilla cakes were everywhere, but so too were strawberry and pineapple, blueberry with pink and black frosting, and so many others Harry wondered if he'd ever stop eating. Of course, Amanda took care of that problem.

Ten minutes after the deserts were brought out the Weird Sisters came out and began to play. Most of their songs were on the softer side, romantic tunes inducing the ladies to bring out their boys for a spin on the dance floor. Harry couldn't escape.

Amanda grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out on the floor. Harry felt like a fool, having little rhythm and no wish to be out there for long, but when the next song was a very long, very slow song which invited Amanda to bring him in tight, Harry found a new respect for dancing.

They spent most of the night on the dance floor, as did Hermione and Davie. Where Ron and Parvati had gone so quickly, Harry didn't know, though he had an idea.

After a few songs Harry and Amanda swapped partners with Davie and Hermione, and so things continued. Harry found that he was required, as the school hero, to swap to another girl at least once out of every four songs, and it was just beginning to wear on him when Cho cut in.

"Enjoying the dance?" she asked softly.

"I am now," he replied provocatively. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was the way she looked in her soft brown dress, but he felt he needed to flirt, just a bit. Of course it wouldn't go anywhere, so where was the harm.

After a few moments she nodded over at Amanda who had a whole flock of guys trying to cut in with her. "She cleans up pretty nice."

"Yeah, she does."

"Is it serious?"

This was a good question. "I think it is," Harry replied, mildly surprised how true this statement felt.

"Well, I wish you two all the best."

"You too. How are things going with you and…"

A loud screeching sound from above cut out his next words. Harry and Cho, as well as many of the other students, looked up in surprise. It was much too late for mail, yet half a dozen Owls were flying down from above.

When the owls came to their owners Harry noticed that only the professors were getting mail. Then a strange owl dropped a letter off to him.

A sinking feeling erupted deep in his gut. Slowly he slipped his finger under the wax stamp, but before he could open it he saw that Dumbledore too had received a letter, finished reading it, and the look on his face said it all.

With his fingers trembling, Harry opened his letter. Inside was a very short note. Harry read it quickly, then re-read it three more times. Finally, he looked up towards Dumbledore and saw him walking with a purpose directly for him. Harry nodded, Dumbledore pointed up, and Harry knew that at this moment the entire Order was converging in the Headmasters office.

Harry held up his hand, nodded to Cho, and without missing a beat Dumbledore turned and headed for the Staff door.

"What's going on, Harry," Cho asked in a frightened tone. "It must be something horrible with the way Dumbledore was just looking at you."

"It is. You've got to collect the students and send them back to their dorms. I doubt the news will stay contained for long."

"What news. What's happened."

"There was another attack, this one inside the Ministry itself. And now it's official. He's wages an all out war against us."

"What are you talking about?" Cho shouted, truly mortified.

"It's Fudge. He's dead."

Coming Soon

Chapter 25


	25. Chapter 25 The Ministry Massacre

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 25

The Ministry Massacre

"He's what?" Cho cried. Several students whipped around to look at her but her attention was solely on Harry.

"He's dead. Killed at the ministry. I need to go meet with Dumbledore and the rest of the staff upstairs in Dumbledore's office. He's counting on you and Mathew to keep the students calm and under control. I have a strong feeling he wasn't the only victim and there's going to be a lot a very scared students when the other mail comes in."

"But… Minister Fudge…"

"Snap out of it. We've got to get these kids up to their rooms, NOW!"

As though she'd been slapped, Cho suddenly realised he was right, turned around without another word, and ran to Snape who was already talking to Mathew. Harry ran over to Hermione and Ron.

Very quickly he ran down what had happened and their responses were as to be expected. Hermione was shocked, but she recovered much quicker than Cho. The moment Harry told her to get the rest of the students back to their dorms she nodded and ran over to join Cho to talk to Snape.

Harry ran as quickly as he could to his portrait hole and took the steps two at a time.

Soon he was out of the portrait hold and heading for the Griffin entrance to Dumbledore's office. Just as he reached it he heard Charley call out to him. A moment later he was standing by Harry's side, half out of breath and with a very concerned look on his face.

"Did you talk to your dad?" harry asked, though with the look on Charlie's face he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah," Charlie answered. "No worries there. Dad's been home for over an hour, and Bill checked in just a few minutes ago."

"Well that's good news," he replied. Charlie's expression didn't change.

"That's the good news, yeah," Charlie replied sombrely, "but there's so much bad news."

"Why? What else has happened?"

"Let's go up. Dumbledore will tell you everything. I'm sure there's a lot more I don't even know yet. _Tootsieroll._"

The Griffin began turning and they both raced up the steps and found the door already open. All the Professors were there including David, all scrambling around like blind mice searching for cheese. The only calm ones seemed to be Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, though how he got here before harry was a mystery.

When the door behind them finally shut, the entire room went deathly quiet. Then Dumbledore rose from his chair and spoke.

"I am sure many of you are wondering what we are going to do about the attack and I will get to that in a moment. However, before I get started I need to have a word with Mr. Potter."

Harry slumped down. He didn't dare imagine what could possibly require his private audience with the headmaster but he was sure it couldn't be good.

He stepped slowly up and around the headmasters desk and Dumbledore brought him a few feet back from the crowd.

"Harry," he asked in a soft tone, "how are you coming along with the search for those medallions?"

Harry's eyes went wide. _He wanted to know about that now_? Harry thought.

"It's going well," Harry replied. "We think we've located the second medallion, though I'm not sure how we can get it. It's all the way in America, somewhere in California."

Dumbledore sighed for a moment, then nodded to himself. "I'll see what I can do for you. Perhaps we can get you over there during the upcoming Holiday. And the other two?"

"Well, we only need the three. Slytherin's Medallion isn't needed. As for the forth, it's somewhere here, near the school. If it's not on the grounds it's probably in Hogsmeade. We're still looking for that one. But Hermione thinks if we find the first two they will lead us to the third. Why? What's this got to do with what happened at the ministry."

"I'll tell you later. For now all you need to know is that you must find those medallions. But come now, you'll understand when I'm finished recounting the events of the past four hours," he concluded, then nudged harry back into the crowd of Professors.

Harry nodded, though he was really more confused than anything else.

When he got back to Charlie's side, Dumbledore cleared his throat and addressed the group.

"Some of you are aware of different facts regarding the attack at the Ministry, but for continuity's sake I am going to quickly revisit the events leading up to and preceding the Minister's death."

All eyes and ears were locked on Dumbledore as he recounted the attack in quick but full detail.

"At five thirty tonight after much of the staff had already gone home for the night, Voldemort led a dozen Death Eaters and more than twenty Dementors into the Ministry. Anyone who crossed their paths were killed either by the Dementor's Kiss or by the Avada Kedavra Curse."

A few soft gasps escaped from some of the Professors but nobody interrupted as Dumbledore continued.

"It appears as though they were there on a mission because the attacks were very specific. They took out everybody in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, then skipped all other floors and went straight to the Minister's office. Unfortunately he was wrapping up a meeting with the heads of the Ministry Council, all who were taken by surprise and all of which were summarily executed. We know for a fact that the Minister was saved for last because there is a great deal of evidence that suggests that he was tortured for more than an hour before Voldemort himself struck the final blow, etching the dark mark on the wall just above the Minister's desk. It was hand drawn with Minister Fudge's own blood."

Several more gasps escaped and some of the women could be heard crying softly.

"There were a total of seventeen witches and wizards who lost their lives tonight, all of whom were Ministry officials and most of whom lost their lives without the aid of the Avada Kedavra."

Several looks from around the room confirmed to Harry what he feared Dumbledore meant by this. They weren't killed instantly, they were killed slowly. Harry wondered how long some of them had been tortured before they finally lost their lives. He didn't want to think about it.

"Nearly as disturbing as this is the fact that, as far as our investigation has found, nothing of any importance had been stolen from the Ministry. In fact, considering the time they put into the deaths of the Ministry Officials, the place was hardly touched or even searched. It appears that whatever they wanted, they got it from the Minister himself."

"Perhaps his death is all they wanted," Snape replied from the back.

"Indeed. At this point it would be very disruptive to the entire wizarding world to lose the Minister of Magic. The threatening chaos of losing the Minister could very well be his motive, but I believe there may have been other motives as well."

"Perhaps they knew exactly what they were looking for and had no reason to search for it," commented Professor Flitwick. "Or perhaps it was information that they were after and they dispatched the minister when they finally got it."

"I don't think so," Harry said before he could stop himself. All heads turned to him, some obviously surprised that he was there. Harry suddenly felt very stupid for opening his mouth, but Dumbledore prodded him on.

"Why is that, Harry?" he asked, though Harry was sure he knew the answer.

"Because Voldemort is an accomplished Occlumens and if he needed the information he'd have gotten it without having to torture the Minister. In fact he'd have thought himself a failure of Occlumency if he were unable to get the information without having to resort to torture, and it's not likely he'd allow himself to be reduced to that. From everything I've heard so far it sounds more like Professor Snape is right. Mister Fudge was tortured to prove a point. It declares to the entire wizarding world that if Voldemort can walk into the Ministry of Magic and dispose of the Minister himself, there is nothing that is going to stop him from doing whatever he wants. That's all it was; A sign."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with a slight hint of a smile, not at the events of course, but at the fact that it was Harry who had made the point. "I believe this is the most likely scenario. There may, of course, have been other advantages which they took hold of but in all likelihood it was the simple message from Voldemort that he and his Death Eaters are back and they are going to do whatever they want whenever they want."

"If that was their purpose, they sure accomplished it," added Professor Vector.

The whole crowd seemed to pull behind this theory and now it seemed the same Professors who had looked at him as an intruding teenager just a few minutes ago were now looking at him as a man. Harry couldn't help but stand a bit taller as everyone began chattering about the repercussions. This was quickly dismissed when Dumbledore clapped his hands together loudly.

Instant silence resumed.

"The problems we have immediately are those with the students. We were lucky in the respect that only one of our students have been directly effected by this. Miss Orla Quirke's mother worked as an assistant to one of the Ministry Judges and was on her way to deliver some messages when she crossed their paths. Thankfully she did not suffer, but Miss Quirke will need to be informed. It is likely she will wish to return home, at least for the time being. Professor Sprout, I leave it to you to take on this unfortunate task."

"I shall not waist another minute, sir. If I may I shall speed to her side at this very moment."

"Very good. Please wish her all our best wishes and remind her that my door is always open to her and that Hogwarts will be waiting for her whenever she wishes to return."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I'm sure it will be comforting to know." And with that, Professor Sprout shot out the door with a speed Harry hadn't know her capable of, the echo of her footsteps already in the hallway before the door closed completely behind her.

Something occurred to Harry, and before he could think twice about it he turned and called out to Dumbledore, "Sir. Do you think Voldemort know about the T…"

"I do not know, Harry, but that is something we must not worry about now. We have much more important things of concern. Foremost is the assigning of a new Minister of Magic. I fear they will come for me all to quickly, but as you all know, my place is here. Unfortunately, however, the next likely and logical person for the job is someone we suspect to be an inactive Death Eater and if Voldemort gets his claws into him things could get much worse than anything that happened sixteen years ago."

"But surely if you nominate someone for the position we could get the right person for the job," Harry said assuredly. "In fact, what about Mr. Weasley? He'd be a good Minister."

"Arthur would not accept even if he were offered the position. He is where he is because that is where he wants to be and for no other reason. No, the best person we can expect for the position at this time is Amelia Bones. Her position as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement makes her a good candidate and she has already gathered a good amount of support in her efforts to capture Death Eaters. Furthermore, She's not one to make rash decisions but has shown a willingness to make the hard decisions when it counts."

"However, my true concern lies not in who gets the job but in who does not. There are at least half a dozen known Death Eaters who would stand a chance of being elected and we must ensure that none of them is elected. Therefore we must find ourselves a champion, one whom we can trust, and in him we could…"

"Lochhart!" called Harry before he could stop himself.

"Excuse me?" Snape replied with a growl. "Mr. Potter, you can't expect us to actually attempt to place that bumbling idiot in the position of Minister of Magic. Even if he were capable of running, he'd be incompetent at best. But from what I hear he's a complete vegetable at St. Mungo's."

"Not at all," Harry replied quickly, too energised to recognise Snape's sarcasm. "He's almost completely back to normal, better even."

"Indeed," added Professor David. Harry had completely forgotten he was there. "From what I have been told, Gilderoy will be back in complete health before Christmas, possibly even by the end of next month."

"And what do you know of his condition," spat Snape.

"I know a great deal, see as how it was my prescriptions which have helped him on his way to recovery. You see…"

Professor David launched into a brief breakdown on his involvement in Lockhart's recovery and, as it turned out, he was doing even better than what Harry had last heard. It seemed that he had fallen rather hard for one of the nurses that had been helping him over the years and she had been having a healthy effect on him. He was becoming much less self-absorbed, more willing to help where he could, and seemed more happy to have regained most of his memory than he was of the fame he once held.

"So you see, young Mr. Potter here may very well be onto something here. You could even spin it as a true Italian Stallion story, so to speak."

This last comment was met with blank stares by all until Dumbledore finally broke the silence with a soft chuckle. "Gilderoy is not exactly in the same league as Sly, but you may be right. It could just work."

Seeming to be embarrassed by their lack of understanding, each of the Professors seemed to suddenly understand that applause was their only way back into the fold, and they wanted back in immediately.

"He's got the fame for it, that's for sure," yelled one Professor while another added, "and everyone loves a hero!"

Harry couldn't help himself. "I'd be willing to admit that he helped in the Chamber of Secrets," he called out.

"Very good," Dumbledore nodded at Harry. "Very well, it seems we have our nominee for the next Minister of Magic. That's one thing down, seventeen to go. Now, onto some of the lesser known losses at the Ministry."

They covered each and every person that was lost that night, some important member of the Ministry who needed to be replaced by very specific people, others who's loss was less cataclysmic but sorely missed all the same.

They talked all night and straight through until dawn, until finally around six Dumbledore broke them up, sending them off on different assignments, most of which were to secure the students in the idea that things would continue on and that the end of the world was not forthcoming.

Harry's two assignments were simple; find the other two medallions and lead by example when it came to student moral throughout the school. This prompted Harry to suggest the school wide duelling competition. Dumbledore gladly agreed stating that the sooner the better.

Harry mentioned that he planned for after the new year but could probably get it started by the last week of November with recurring challenges each week leading up to the competition's semi-finals on the Friday preceding the Christmas Holiday and the Grand Finale on the following Saturday. This would leave the students in high spirits before they head off to their respective families on Sunday.

Exhausted by the time he made it back to the Gryffindor tower, he wanted nothing more than to jump into bed and fall asleep for a week. But the competition had to come first so he called Hermione down and began updating their plan to incorporate the new time schedule. Harry would have asked Ron to help as well but he was nowhere to be found.

Four hours later they had a complete proposal for the competition. It would provide for three complete contests, two of which would be set for interhouse competition and the third and grandest being for the individual duellists.

For the Individual Contest there would be no divisions, no counting of points for their respective houses, and no limitations on whom a student might face. This meant that in any random duel a duellist could end up duelling a fellow house member.

Only fourth years and above would be allowed to enter, though Harry had initially wanted to allow the third years as well. Hermione had insisted on it being at least fourth years and wanted to restrict it to five, but when Harry reminded her of their abilities and ingenuity during their first three years. She retorted by asking if any third year should be allowed to go up against Draco, and so he relented to fourth years and above.

During the first five round the students would be sorted into groups of forth and fifth years in one group and sixth and seventh years in the other. Each duel would be to five points for the first three rounds under double disqualification rules for each round. This meant that you would have to lose against two separate opponents in a single round to be eliminated.

After the victors had been crowned a last chance for all the losers of both groups would be granted in the wildcard contest. This would be a preview of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and Grand Finals as the duellists would be pitted against one another in single qualifying duels to seven points, but here the drawing would be a completely random which meant a fourth year could easily end up duelling with a seventh year.

This would be the only contest in which the first, second, and third years would not be allowed to participate. They would, however, be able to compete in the team contests would surely hold a great deal of excitement of its own.

The first of the two team contests, and the one that would take up the most time of the entire competition, would be the individual teams. Each house would compete with as many of their students as they wanted, though each year required at least two girls and two boys for each house.

In the very likely event that one house would have more competitors in a particular year than the other houses, the handicapped house would be given a random draw for some of their classmates to compete twice. After a student was drawn, he or she would be removed from any future drawings until all names in their house and year had been drawn.

The first round would be a double disqualification match from each house so that each student would duel in a minimum of six matches and a maximum of nine. The top half of the group would continue on to the second round where for another round of the same.

The semi-finals would be single disqualification per house with the finalists duelling an extended eighteen point final round. Ten bonus points would go to each of the winners, seven bonus points to the runner-ups, and with five, three, two, and one for each of the competitors as they fell in the finals. Added to each point they would win in the first round and the three they'd win in the second round, the winning team would have at least a hundred points. Harry and Hermione were sure that this would be a very fun competition to watch.

Finally was the tag-team contest. This would be simple. The first through forth years would be grouped together as Team A of their respective houses and the fifth through seventh years would make up their respective Team B. Each team would consist of two students of each year. The challenge, a simple game of capture the flag. Best two out of three victories would win. This one contest would be held during the third week of the competition and take up the whole of the day.

Harry and Hermione were just finishing up the details of the final round of the team contest when a ragged an beaten, though oddly glowing Ron stammered through the Portrait hole. He took two steps, Saw harry and Hermione, smiled broadly, and sauntered up to his room without another word.

Concerned, they piled up their papers and chased after him, both walking through the door just as he began changing. Hermione blushed and turned away just as Ron turned around and took notice of them, his hands ready to remove his trousers.

"What are you doing?" he cried to Hermione, re-securing his belt.

"I'm sorry!" she called back over her shoulder, her hands parting over her eyes. "I didn't know you were... oh hell." Her cheeks were flushed bright red.

Harry grinned broadly, taking notice of the fact that in all likelihood she had just seen more of Ron than ever before in their previous six years of knowing each other.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Bloody hell!" Ron finished buttoning his shirt back on and turned back around to face them. "It's alright now. I'm dressed."

Hermione turned around slowly, saw he was dressed but clearly still quite dishevelled and launched into it with him.

"We were worried about you. I'm sorry if we didn't knock but you looked as though you had been in a fight."

Ron suddenly flushed as his eyes went wide, a smile brooding over his face. "Well, I sort'a was, if you catch my drift."

Harry stepped back away slowly, sure the roof would explode straight off the tower at Hermione's response. Surely she knew what he was talking about and she was bound to fly off the deep end. Oddly enough, she said and did nothing for several seconds, looked him up and down, then declared nonchalantly, "Well, I guess you don't look hurt, so I guess maybe I overreacted."

Harry's jaw hit the floor. Ron stood motionless seemingly to have finally caught on to what he'd just said.

"Well, if you're still going to change I guess I'll meet you and Harry after lunch," she replied in a completely nonchalant tone. "It looks like you could both use a little rest."

And with nothing more to say she simply smiled, turn, and walked gracefully out the portrait hole.

Whack!

The palm of Harry's hand stung, but it was well worth it.

"Bloody hell! What was that for?" Ron cried, still rubbing the back of his head.

"For being the worlds biggest git!" Harry charged.

"How's that. She didn't even notice what I was talking about."

"A flubberworm would have gotten what you were talking about. She just didn't want to show that it effected her. You know how she feels about you. That was right insensitive of you and you know it."

"Yeah, well, she's the one that's going out with that git Davie." He said Davie's name in the same tone he used to reserve for Draco Malfoy.

"And you're the one that let her get away. And now you've gone and done something stupid and then you throw it in her face."

"Hey now. I'll say one thing that's for sure. There was nothing stupid about last night."

"Right. You just go out on a date with a girl you've spent less than a week's worth of time with and bam, you snogg her."

"Like you've never thought about it with Amanda?"

"Of course I have. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it. I've thought about a lot of things I haven't done, like right now I'm thinking of turning you into a blast-ended screwt."

"Not before I turn you into a Mandrake," he replied, drawing his wand.

Silence filled the room for the next ten seconds as they stared each other down, both armed and set to fire. Neither said another word until, finally, Ron broke into a small grin. A moment later they were laughing out loud, heading up to their dorm with their arms over each other's shoulders, the best of buds.

As they were getting ready for a quick nap Harry looked over to Ron and asked, "Do you think you and Hermione will ever get your acts together and hook up."

"I don't know," Ron replied honestly. "I'd like to think so, but no matter how I joke about it, I think I could get to like being with Parvati. She treats me nice and doesn't make me feel like I'm beneath her, even when she buys me stuff. Like the dress outfit we got when we were in Hogsmeade. Did you know she wouldn't let me pay for it. She refused, saying if I was going to be a proper gentleman then I'd have to let her get me things from time to time. You know, I don't think I ever felt as nice to be around a girl as I did just then."

"So you think you might be falling for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Whatever it is I feel for her, it's definitely growing. I mean, I'm still into Hermione, but when I'm with Parvati I don't find myself thinking about her as much. It's just about me and Parvati and nobody else."

"Well, if I were you I'd make sure you treat her right. She's good for you, she treats you nice, and from the few times I've talked to her it seems she really cares about you."

"Yeah," Ron sighed. "I like her too."

Harry let that hang for a few moments before he turned over and prepared himself to sleep. But before he closed his eyes he had to ask one last question.

"So, how was it?"

"How was what?" Ron replied dreamily.

"You know, it."

"Oh. I couldn't describe it if I had to. All I can say is that in this whole world I can't imagine anything better. It was like…"

But what it was like, Harry never heard. The grip of exhaustion had finally ensnared him.

Coming Soon

Chapter 26


	26. Chapter 26 Fallout

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 26

Fallout

Fallout from the Ministry was felt by the entire school. Many of the students were seen with their heads held bowed, each one looking depressed and downtrodden. Even the news of the upcoming Duelling Competition did not seem to lift their spirits, though it was announced that the duelling tournament itself would not happen until the third week of December due to the fact that Harry could not find a proper schedule open to all the students until after the upcoming Quidditch match and the Qualifying matches would have to take place the following week under Charley's supervision. He'd volunteered for the job, much to Harry's relief..

Harry noticed quickly that Ron seemed to have taken the attack at the Ministry harder of the Hogwarts students. Harry was able to put together from what little he'd gotten out of him that Ron had felt guilty since his father could very well have been at the Ministry during the attack fighting for his life, all the while his youngest son was off shagging Parvati.

Neither Harry or Hermione were able to cheer him up during the week following the attack while he slumped along from class to class, his eyes always fixed on his shoelaces. It wasn't until after DADA on Friday, after a rather extensive talk with his big brother, that he finally snapped out of it and began acting somewhat normal again. "Or as normal as Ron could be," Hermione later cited.

Harry, on the other hand, was much too caught up with the duelling class, especially with the increased number of students who wanted his help after class. It seemed the announcement of the Tournament had caught the attention of more students than Harry ever would have imagined. This led to a one hour study hall class three days a week where he could help the students with any questions or extra one-on-one training they might need. Harry soon found himself once again nose deep in extra responsibilities, but at least he had a bit more time to spend with Amanda.

And so, by the week before the second Quidditch match of the year, Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff, which would take place the third Saturday of November, Harry found himself spending more than four hours a day, including his standard classes, preparing those students who wanted the extra help.

Luckily Dumbledore had taken a liking to Harry's competition and so, in order to aid Harry, he decided to add an extra Sunday each month of training exercises so that Harry would have a few extra tricks up his sleeves. Most of what Dumbledore would teach him during the alternate session dealt with how to handle several Death Eaters at one time.

"What you must do," Dumbledore instructed the week before the Quidditch Game, "is become openly aware of everything that is happening around you even when there are things going on around you which have nothing to do with the fight itself. A perfect example is what happened at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Now you handled yourself quite well then, Harry, but there were several factors which aided you then that would not have helped you in other situations. For instance, those Muggle cars helped you both with protection as well as a means of disguise. Were there to have been no cars there, things may have come out quite differently."

"I was lucky," Harry agreed.

"You were smart, fast on your feet, and very effective with your surroundings. I would hardly call that being lucky. But unfortunately, luck does only bring us so far and I fear there may be times where you will have to face many opponents at one time with a much less accommodating environment."

Dumbledore waved his wand and seven balloons appeared around the room, each with a small white ball floating below them.

"This is a simple exercise that goes back hundreds of years and will help you fine tune your duelling reflexes. The object is simple. Each of the larger balls will float around the room, and all you have to do is pop them before the smaller balls hit you."

"Sounds simple enough," replied Harry.

"Very well. When you're ready."

"Ready," Harry called. He was wrong.

The balloons started whirling around the room, bouncing up and down, to and fro, moving fast enough to make Harry dizzy with the movement.

He watched for a few seconds, trying to get a beat on the pattern, but there wasn't much time to find a pattern before he felt the sting on his back shoulder as one of the small balls bounced off.

By the time he had turned around the white ball had return to it's respective balloon and all the other balls had come to a complete stop.

"It's not quite as easy as it looks, is it?" Dumbledore asked with a knowing grin. "Of course it's always easier when you see that it can be done."

Another wave of his wand and thirteen more balls appeared bringing the total up to twenty. A moment later he waved his wand and they spun off in every direction, most moving too fast for Harry to keep up. But not for Dumbledore.

Like a well orchestrated play, Dumbledore hit each of the targets with speed and precision unrivalled. None were able to avoid his aim and the few balls that tried to hit him were easily side-stepped. The whole thing lasted less than thirty seconds. Harry watched open mouthed as Dumbledore displayed an agility and finesse that the world's top athletes would have watched in awe. No man of Dumbledore's age was supposed to be that fast and graceful in the midst of battle.

"Ah, that was refreshing," Dumbledore said simply. "Now, I don't expect you to be able to do that any time soon, but I'm sure that with a little practice you would be able to take five of them by the end of the year."

"I'll be lucky if I can take more than three in that time," Harry replied begrudgingly.

"Don't underestimate yourself Harry. You are much more accomplished than you realize. I suspect that by the end of today you will be able to incapacitate three balloons without much effort. Remember, as I told you before, you needn't always end a conflict with a single strike. Often it is the third or forth strike that is most important and it is simply up to you to figure out how to stay safe until then. For instance…"

Dumbledore waved his wand again and all but two of the balloons had disappeared.

"This time I will have both balloons attack you strictly from the front. All you need to do is hit each of the larger balloons with any basic disarming spells. Of course, they will both be attacking at the same time, so what do you think will be your biggest problem?"

Harry pondered it for a few moments before answering.

"Well, if I try to disable either of them, the other is going to hit me before I can get off the second spell, so the first thing I need to do is make sure that I avoid their first attack. Then I can stop one before the other attacks, and then it's a simple one-on-one duel."

"Very good. Now, let's see how your words translates into action. Begin!" he announced quickly.

Harry was a bit taken aback with Dumbledore's quick restart, but he was still able to avoid both attacks. A quick casting of _Windgardium Leviosa_ slowed one of the smaller balls, and after dodging a second attack from the other ball, Harry was able to disable both large balloons with little effort.

"Now that wasn't very hard, was it?" Dumbledore said proudly.

"No, it really wasn't" Harry replied, quite pleased with himself.

"Of course, it's not going to be often enough when both attackers will come at you simultaneously or both from the front, so this time let's see how you fare with them attacking randomly and without restricting their positions. Now try to clear your mind and pay attention only to where they are and how they attack. Even when doing so randomly you'll find there is a certain rhythm they will follow, as all manner of creatures, even witches and wizards, do follow."

Harry nodded, readied himself, and waited.

"Go!" Dumbledore called.

The two balloons split apart, each heading for opposite sides of Harry.

Harry dove forward as one of the balloons shot at him, hitting the ground just inches from his feet. Startled, Harry struck at the attacking balloon and completely missed the other which had attacked just as Harry turned his wand towards the other balloon. He never saw it coming until the ball had struck him in the ribs.

"Oomph," Harry cried.

"You got distracted, Harry. That won't do. You have to keep your mind on the task at hand. Had you struck the other balloon, you would likely have had more than enough time to hit the other one without being hit. As it was you only hit one of your targets and it was a glancing blow at that." He helped Harry stand back up and waved his wand, readying the balloons for another attack.

"This time, try to keep your mind on the objective and try not to let emotion cloud your judgement."

Harry nodded, readied himself again, and waited.

"Go!"

Harry jumped back two steps, shooting a basic spell off to the left, not intending to hit anything but to lure each of the balloons into attacking. It worked. They both shot at him at practically the same time. Leaping forward and dodging both shots gave him an open shot at one of the balloons which he shot down effortlessly.

The second regained its ball just as Harry turned to face it. They both struck at the same time, but instead of Harry's spell hitting the balloon it struck the small ball which exploded in the middle of the room. Assuming that was it, Harry put his wand down and was nearly struck by the other ball as it flew by his right shoulder and zoomed back up towards the balloon. Without even thinking about it Harry struck, firing off a soft spoken "_Incendio"_ which struck dead centre and caused the balloon to pop loudly.

"Very Good," Dumbledore said as he clapped.. "Very nice recovery there, though you forgot a cardinal rule. Never forget that a wounded animal is always more dangerous than a healthy one because it's got nothing left to lose. Now, have a cup of chocolate and we'll try again."

The next three hours sped by as though they were mere moments. Dumbledore was right, however, in the fact that Harry was able to take out three balloons on his own by the end of their training, though it was cut short by Professor McGonagall rushing in to the classroom, clearly out of breath.

"Sorry to interrupt, Headmaster, but we've just been alerted to another problem spawning from the attack at the Ministry and they've called an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. They're waiting for you as we speak."

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a sigh, excusing himself with a quick nod before exiting via Harry's personal staircase.

Harry was immediately worried about what could be so urgent that the entire Wizengamot could be called so quickly. He frowned, turning back to find McGonagall still standing there, shaking her head before surprising him with a fairly thorough answer to his unspoken question.

"The Headmaster will handle everything, Mr. Potter, but as some of this pertains to you indirectly, I think there are a few things you need to know. Would you care to sit?" she asked, offering him his desk as she conjured her own chair on opposite his. When they were both seated she continued.

"As I'm sure you remember, there are a large number of secret rooms in the Department of Mysteries that are extremely powerful and quite dangerous. Well, it seems that You-Know-Who deemed these too dangerous to leave untouched, so several of the Death Eaters and a full pack of werewolves were unleashed within the depths of the Department of Mysteries."

"Good Lord," Harry replied in shock. "Did anybody… Was anyone… Were there any…"

"We were able to find seven survivors amongst the damage, but yes, there were several losses. Nine Witches and Wizards in all lost their lives down there, and more than half the department was destroyed, including the Hall of Prophecies."

"What about the room with the veiled archway where Sirius, you know…"

"Safe. It's one of the few rooms that was. That and the locked room we weren't able to get into last June were left untouched, though nobody seems to know why."

"Dumbledore knows," Harry said simply.

"That may be, but whether he did or not, it seems that You-Know-Who wanted nothing to do with either of those rooms."

Harry nodded. "What else happened. That can't be the only thing to convene the entire Wizengamot."

"Quite right. There has been another incident which, while less damaging, will have serious repercussions. There was an attack in Fernsend. It seems the Giants have been told that the Ministry has been hit and they have decided that this would be as good a time as any to attack."

"No doubt they got their information from a few Death Eaters."

"There can be little doubt. However, Dumbledore has made contact with the Giants over the past year and he feels confident that some may only follow their destructive patterns so long as they are driven that way. He hopes to free some of them from their Gurg, but he says it is not time yet."

"Not time yet? But every time they go through a city we chance losing wizards and witches. What about them?"

"Unfortunately Harry, we are at war and there are times when compromises have to be made. Of course we don't want to lose anyone, but history has shown us there's a very good chance that all of this is simply a prelude of what is to come."

"How much worse can it get? We've all but lost the Ministry, the Giants are attacking, the Death Eaters and Dementors are back working for Voldemort in full force, what else can happen?"

"Quite a bit, some of which already has. You see, there are many things the Wizarding community have kept from other magical creatures throughout the world that may come back to haunt them. Your Godfather knows this all too well."

"Remus? What about him?"

"Werewolves are but a simple example of magical creatures which have been oppressed by the wizarding world. There are many others as well, and most of them are not as understanding or forgiving as Remus."

"So what does this mean?"

"It means that his meeting of the Wizengamot is going to decide a great many things in the days and years to come when it comes to many of our laws. We are at war, and many innocents are forsaken in the name of the greater good."

"Like what?" Harry asked, suddenly filled with a sense of dread.

"Like werewolf camps where they are held in small rooms as prisoners simply for being what they are."

"Do you mean to tell me that Lupin could be arrested just for being a werewolf even with him taking that potion."

"That, or worse. In extreme cases they may feel that he is too great a threat to be allowed to live. Remember what happened to Buckbeak?"

"But they couldn't…" Harry replied, his eyes tearing up.

"No, they can't. That is why Dumbledore is on his way there. It is not likely they will take things that far, especially with what has recently come to pass. However, there are other, smaller things they may very well do that he cannot stop. Unfortunately, until he returns, we can only sit and wait to find out."

"How long will he be gone?"

"Well, in this kind of case they will hold him over for a few hours to go over the basics before dismissing everyone to their families. They will then have two hours to set their affairs in order before they reconvene for the full congregation. That can last for days depending on how things progress."

"And what will come of Hogwarts in the process? I mean, if Voldemort knows the congress is convened, what better time to…"

"Good Lord," McGonagall replied, the shock on her face evident.

Harry stood there dumbstruck, standing in place for several minutes after McGonagall had left the office in a full run. It was only after the third call did Harry hear a familiar voice coming from the front door.

"Wha..?" He looked over at the door and saw Ron and Hermione poking their heads through the door.

"Harry," Hermione asked, "are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Dumbledore's gone to convene the Wizengamot."

"Oh no. What happened now?" Hermione cried, terror in her voice.

Harry laid the whole thing out for them. When he was done they sat there, neither saying a word for several minutes. Finally Ron spoke up.

"This is it, isn't it?"

"That's about it." Harry replied.

"So what can we do?" Hermione asked.

"The only thing I can think of is to boost our work in the duelling class. Aside from that, we can't do anything until we find those other Medallions, but who knows when or if we'll ever do that."

"Oh, that reminds me. Davie said he thinks he has a way for us to get it, but with everything that we've just heard I don't know if we can pull it off."

"How's that?" Harry asked.

"Well, his friend got permission from his Mum and Dad to let us come over and look for it, but with all this I don't think Dumbledore's going to let us go."

"Why not? How much safer could he expect us to be spending our holiday halfway around the world. There'd be no way for Voldemort to find out where we were going, and even if he did, America's a lot bigger than Europe. There's no way he could track us down in only a week. Trust me, I'll talk to Dumbledore and take care of everything. Tell Davie thanks and that we accept."

They agreed to let Harry handle talking to Dumbledore even though neither of them really believed he could pull it off. They did, however, believe he could coax some more information from their Headmaster about what would happen with the Wizengamot, so they left him be for the time being.

The week following Harry's lesson with Dumbledore was more than a little hectic.

The most unsettling news the trio got came the following day after Dumbledore's convening of the Wizengamot. What would have been thought of as a long and tedious process which would likely last longer than any previous congregation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were shocked to find Dumbledore present the very next morning following the emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. When Harry asked what happened, he was shocked by the Headmaster's response.

"Well, it went quite smoothly. It seems that the Wizengamot has decided that, after my many previously unbidden warnings they believe that my outlook on current events is likely to be best. Thus, most of what I had to suggest went completely unchallenged. Of course, not everything went smoothly, but enough so that any issues we may face in the near future will not be obstructed by the Wizengamot or by the Ministry itself."

"What about Remus. I heard the Wizengamot might try to outlaw werewolves, making prison camps and such."

"Indeed there was talk of that initially, but I suggested a more reasonable alternative and the Wizengamot settled quite quickly on the subject. You need not worry. As a formally registered werewolf, Remus will not have anything to worry about. Aside from having their general movements monitored from the Ministry, they are leaving werewolves as a whole alone at this time."

"So he's going to be okay?"

"Indeed. It seems the Ministry is much more worried about finding a new Minister of Magic than any other issue at this time."

"So what happens next?"

"Well, there will be a formal congregation three weeks from now when the entire Ministry will convene and appoint a new Minister. This will give the public time to cast their votes with their favourite Ministry officials in attempt to guide their decision. After that, the top three candidates will be put before the Wizengamot and they will appoint the new Minister. We are hoping to have one officially in office before Christmas."

"But what about the Giants and Voldemort. The attacks aren't going to stop."

"That is a greater problem, but one you needn't concern yourself with. Suffice it to say that both the Order and the Ministry are keeping a watchful eye out for anything unusual and will take the appropriate action should the need arise. Right now you need to concern yourself only with those classes of yours and of finding those medallions. And before you ask, I have spoken to Charlie and he will accompany you to the United States to find that second medallion."

Harry knew Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world and was always one step ahead of everyone else. But even with that knowledge, Harry was completely dumfounded by this declaration.

"But… How did you know about that?" Harry managed to ask.

"I do my best to keep well informed of the goings on within the bounds of this castle and I have a large number of helpers to keep me informed," Dumbledore replied, nodding to the wall.

Harry followed Dumbledore's nod and realized that all of the prior Headmasters were shuffling around in their portraits and his eyes widened in understanding. As he thought about it, there were few rooms he'd seen in the castle which did not have at least one or two portraits in it. Even the Prefects bathroom had a few inconspicuous pictures in it. Between those portraits and the Ghosts, Dumbledore would be better informed than the students would ever suspect.

Having nothing to say, Harry simply turned back to his headmaster and nodded, unable to suppress the small smile creeping across his lips.

"Well, I fear I have much left to do today," Dumbledore said announcing Harry's dismissal, "Until then, I need you to keep an eye on your cousin, keep looking for that third medallion, and keep up on your training."

Harry nodded and, having been dismissed, bade farewell to the headmaster and joined Ron and Hermione for breakfast.

Quidditch Game 2,

Ravenclaw Vs Hufflepuff

The second game of the year between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was both short and perilous. Lasting less than an hour, it was hard to believe that only six of the original fourteen players played through to the end.

It all began when both Hufflepuff Beaters hit Ravenclaw Chaser Clive Chambers with both of their respective Bludgers ten minutes into the game. From Harry's vantage it seemed like an accident as Justin Finch-Fletchley was much farther from Clive than Zacharias Smith which meant that Fletchley had to have hit his Bludger a good two seconds before Smith and he doubted either of them had the wits to coordinate a move like that.

Unfortunately for Fletchley and Smith, the Ravenclaw Beaters didn't feel the same. As soon as the Bludgers hit, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot swarmed on the Hufflepuff Beaters and within seconds all four of them were grounded as Madam Hooch berated them for their conduct.

Four penalty shots later, the game was back under way, but the players on both sides were much more aggressive with their play. Soon the Chasers were spending more time elbowing and kicking each other than they were trying to score.

Unfortunately, an elbow in the ribs to Orla Quirke caused her grip to slip in mid-throw and she ended up hitting Cho Chang on the bristles of her broom, sending Cho spiralling into the stands and crashing between two benches and just missing a group of Hufflepuffs who'd narrowly escaped without injury. After that, things got much bloodier.

Soon the Beaters were hitting Chasers more with their bats than with the Bludgers and the Keepers were spending all their time handling the Quaffle throwing it at the opposing Beaters rather than to their own team-mates. Finally, forty minutes into the game the teams started losing players to the medical tent.

The first casualties happened right in front of Harry's stand when Justin and Zacharias tried to double-team Chambers. Volleying one of the Bludgers as they approached Chambers from behind, Fletchley was in mid-swing when he was hit from behind by the other Bludger which was expertly hit by Terry Boot. Fletchley lost his club which flung over Chambers head and hit Smith dead between the eyes. Both of them fell off their brooms and fell forty feet to the ground.

They were quickly joined by Ackerley, Goldstein, and Summerby when they all collided at the Ravenclaw Goals when Goldstein knocked a Bludger off Ackerley's back which rebounded off one of the goalposts and caught him in the gut, sending him out of control into Summerby who fell back into Ackerley. With their brooms entangled, all three fell off their brooms. Dumbledore was able to catch one of them with a slow-falling spell and Madam Hooch caught a second, but Goldstein fell the full forty-five feet unimpeded into the sandy ground below.

The final clash happened when both Seekers began chasing the Snitch. Cho Chang was in the lead with a ten foot head start, but when Smith tried to hit her with a Bludger it ricocheted off her back and hit Saxon Stebbins square in the face. Bleeding profusely from the nose, both Hufflepuff Chasers Cauldwell and Branstone ran to his rescue. Once again Boot found himself expertly positioned for his team and hit a Bludger into the crowd of them cracking Cauldwell's broom.

Instinctively, he grabbed hold of the closest thing which, unfortunately for his team-mates, just happened to be their brooms, and sure enough the three of them began spiralling down for the ground. While they all remained with their brooms, the lack of control sent them into a collective dive which send them crashing into the ground with a sickening crunch.

Before any of them could recover, Cho Chang captured the Snitch and secured a two hundred and thirty point victory over Hufflepuff's rather disheartening sixty.

Coming Soon

Chapter 27

Love and Hate


	27. Chapter 27 Love and Hate

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 27

Love and Hate

Soon after the Quidditch match Harry and Amanda went up to his office while Ron and Hermione went about their duties as Prefects to ensure that none of the students got out of hand following such a gruelling match.

As Harry lay on their blanket in his office with Amanda mindlessly twirling his hair, Harry began to think about all that had happened over the past weeks. Among all of the horrible things that had happened he couldn't help notice that he ought to feel much worse than he did, and he knew why. Amanda had brought out in him a happiness that he didn't before think was possible.

He had to admit it. He loved her. He didn't know if that meant he was _in_ love with her, but he definitely cared about her in a way he never felt about another person, including Cho.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Amanda whispered as she nibbled his ear.

"I was just thinking about something you asked me a few weeks ago," he replied softly.

"Oh? And what pray tell might that be?" she asked seductively.

Harry's nerves began buzzing all over his body. Never before had he felt the way he did about Amanda, nor had he ever felt the need to express those feelings. Now he'd found someone he could say it to but it seemed his entire body was against the idea. Still, he knew he had to say it. It was now or never.

He looked up at her, his eyes locked on her chin, avoiding any contact with her eyes as he finally said hoarsely, "I love you."

A moment passed in complete silence, then another, and still another. Finally, when it seemed a year had gone by without her replying he finally brought her eyes up to hers and saw tears welling up, threatening to escape.

He cursed himself. It had been too soon. He should have waited until they were more ready. Why did he have to tell her now? He should have given it…

"Oh Harry," she cried suddenly.

Harry looked up, searching her eyes once again and saw complete rapture boiling in her eyes just half an instant before she attacked.

Soon they were intertwined, grabbing and kissing and holding with a desperation that came with the release of all inhibitions, grasping at each other as though their very lives depended on it.

Then, just when Harry though he could not feel any more alive, Amanda began exploring places Harry only previously dreamt about.

His mind went racing as she disappeared below him, delving into him with a want that caused his mind to explode. All control was lost.

The next morning Harry awoke next to her, still on the floor in his office. He was quickly relieved when he looked at the wall clock to see it was still quite early, only just five o'clock. He looked over at the source of more happiness than he ever remembered knowing before and smiled.

There she lay, a crooked half smile playing across her lips, her head to rising and falling softly with each breath she took. Never before in his life could he remember seeing something so beautiful.

Though they still left the final step of their physical relationship untapped, Harry was sure they had come quite as close as was humanly possible. As they explored each other's bodies the previous night, it seemed he had come close on several different occasions to reaching that final step, but some unspoken bond between them told them not to take that last step. As he thought about it now he wondered what had stopped him, yet at the same moment he seemed somehow relieved. He knew that it would happen with her some day, but he knew last night was not be that time.

A loud sigh escaped her lips and he looked up once again to see the clock had somehow moved another half hour and he knew that they needed to get back to their respective rooms before anyone realised they were gone.

Softly he gave her a soft shake, wrestling her gently from her dream-state.

"Hmmm," she cooed softly.

"Come no, sweetie," he called softly to her. "It's time to get up."

"Hmmm, not yet," she replied softly. "Lets just lay here a few more minutes."

"We can't," he replied against his body's every wish. "If we don't get going soon we'll find Ron or Hermione bursting in on us and I don't think any of us would like to catch the end of that show, if you know what I mean."

"Arrr," she growled playfully, then gave him a fleeting kiss on the cheek. "You're too well-behaved for your own good, you know that?"

He nodded while pulling himself back together and gathering his wits about him. A few moments later they found themselves stepping out from the portrait hole next to the Great Hall.

"You go grab a bite to eat and I'll meet you after classes. I'm sure we can find a few moments before dinner to relax under that tree by the lake."

"Why don't you come now and join me for a quick bite?" she asked invitingly.

"Because I've got to get up to the tower before Ron and Hermione go thinking Voldemort's gotten hold of me again like last time."

"Oh, alright. But you better…"

But what she wanted him to do he never heard as Argus Filch broke through the front doors, struggling against something his arm was holding onto that did not want to come inside. Catching Harry's notice he called, "Potter!"

Harry ran over just as Filch pulled a hulking figure through the door. Harry's heart dropped into his stomach.

"Dudley. What happened now?" Harry asked, though he didn't really want to know.

"He's attacked again, and this time we've got witnesses," Filch drawled on.

"What did you do this time?" Harry accused.

"I didn't do it, I swear. I don't even know how I got out there."

"Out where? What happened?" Harry had begun shouting now, now fearful of what may have happened.

"You'll need to see it for yourself," Filch continued. "I'll be taking him to the headmaster."

"Dudley will come with me, Mr. Filch," Harry said in the softest tone he dared use. "Dumbledore had placed him in my authority and I need him to show me what happened. If Dumbledore needs to see us about it I'm sure he'll want to meet us out there."

"Very well, but don't you let him out of your sight. I expect he'll be on the first train to London before lunch."

Harry did not reply but instead grabbed Dudley by the arm and took him outside. He was half way to asking what it was he could have done that would warrant such a reaction from Filch when a series of high pitched screeching noises drew his attention to the lake.

Harry felt as though he'd been hit with a stunning spell.

Though dawn was still fighting the night's darkness, there was still enough light for Harry to quickly find the sources of the screaming. At the lake's bank stood what Harry guessed had to have been the entire Mermaid population surrounding the Giant Squid, or what was left of it.

Even from such a far view Harry could see that several of it's tentacles had been severed and it was hardly moving, though one of it's tentacles was still flailing about in front of it. From what Harry could see, it was a complete mauling.

Harry was not going to wait for Dumbledore this time. Harry took Dudley's wand back out of his pocket and cast "_Priori Incantatum._" To Harry's shock, the first spell to come out of Dudley's wand was a spell he'd never seen before and wished he hadn't seen then either. A large Scimitar appeared and began slicing about in mid-air. A moment later it was gone and was replaced with a giant Hammer which swung up and down several times. Harry had seen enough.

Trying as hard as he could to keep his voice from exploding at Dudley, Harry asked him to tell him what happened.

"The last thing I remember was heading around the corner towards the portrait into the common room when I heard someone say something behind my back. The next thing I know, I'm standing in front of that," he pointed to the Giant Squid, "and had my wand pointing right at it."

"And?" Harry prompted, but Dudley seemed to go quiet. "What happened after that," Harry shouted, losing all composure. "Who are the witnesses and where are they?"

"We're right here," said a short girl who had come up from behind him.

Harry stared at her for several minutes before saying, "Miss Princeton, am I right?" She was a second year Hufflepuff if memory served him correctly. She nodded accordingly.

"What did you see?" Harry asked as gently as he could, fighting the impulse to hit Dudley square in the face.

"Indeed, I would like to hear this myself," came the soft voice of Professor Dumbledore. Harry turned around to see Filch and Dumbledore coming up from behind him with Professor McGonagall and Sprout catching up behind them.

"However, let us first tend to the wounded. Mr. Filch, if you would be so kind as to fetch Hagrid."

"But Headmaster," Filch baulked, "would it not be more appropriate to get Professor Grubbly-Plank. After all, she is the…"

"I am well aware of who our Care of Magical Creatures Professor is, Argus," interrupted Dumbledore. "However, I believe Hagrid might be a bit more better capable of taking care for our large friend here."

Filch could not argue this. Not when Hagrid's previous pets included a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy, plus Norbert and Buckbeak. Instead he simply gave a slight snarl, turned, and headed off for Hagrid's Hut.

As soon as Filch left Dumbledore turned and, with a very sorrowful look on his face, removed his wand from his robes and pointed it directly at the Squid. Dumbledore did not utter a word, but a moment later the Giant squid, tentacles and all, froze in place as though paused in some kind of real live movie.

After a great sigh, Dumbledore turned back to the two young men standing before him and prompted Dudley, "Now, Mr. Dursley, if you would please tell me exactly what happened to the best of your memory, beginning with the moment you left the castle.

"But I don't remember leaving the castle, Sir. Like I told Harry, the last thing I remember is turning the corner for the portrait hole when I heard someone behind me. The next thing I knew I was standing out here with my wand pointed at the lake and Mr. Filch was yelling at me from behind. That's all I remember," Dudley finished, nearing what seemed to Harry like the first genuine tears of his life.

"Very well," Dumbledore said without any sign of whether he believed Dudley's story or not. "Miss Princeton, what did you see, and please be as precise as possible."

"Well, I was out here because, well, I had a bit of a fight with Andrew Corwick and I decided to come out for some fresh air, and Pete came out with me cause he didn't want me coming out this late alone. So we decided to walk around the castle for a bit and we were just getting ready to head back into the castle when we heard a huge splash over by the lake."

"So we both look and Pete was the first to see the Giant Squid splashing about near the bank there, but I was the first one to see him over there on the shore, waving his wand about. That's when I saw the giant sword swinging about and cutting off it's arms. I cried out to Pete and that's when Mr. Filch came out from one of the greenhouses. He ran straight by us, grabbed him by his robes and took him back to the castle, calling back to us to stay where we were."

"Very well. Mr. Princeton, do you have anything to add?"

"No sir. It happened just like she said, only…"

"Yes?" Dumbledore prodded, looking at him as though he were searching straight through to his soul.

"Well, I saw something, but I don't know if it means anything. It's just that when Mr. Filch grabbed Dudley I thought I saw something move off near the edge of the forest, but it was gone before I could focus. I just figured it was one of those things from the forest."

"Indeed. Thank you, both of you. You may go back into the castle now, but I would ask that you not mention anything that has happened tonight until after I have a chance to address the school tomorrow morning."

They both nodded and ran back to the castle while Dumbledore turned and walked over to the edge of the water, speaking to the Merpeople in that screechy language Harry remembered from the Tri Wizard Tournament.

As Dumbledore spoke to the King of the Merpeople Hagrid arrived and went straight to the Giant Squid's aid. Now that he was able to do magic again he pulled out his giant wand and began mending the Squid's tentacles, one by one. It was really odd to see Hagrid doing such work as though it were an everyday thing, but then Harry suspected that he'd had similar problems with Aragog and his hundreds of children.

Harry's attention was distracted once again when Dumbledore left the Merpeople and suddenly pointed his wand straight up into the air and shot a small, glowing white ball into the air that danced around for a few moments before shooting off into the Forbidden forest. Less than thirty seconds later a large Centaur came running out at full gallop, coming to a perfect stop right in front of Dumbledore.

A minute passed as Harry watched the heated discussion. Then, after a quick nod the Centaur ran over to the edge of the lake and with his upper torso bent unusually low, he began trotting around the edge of the lake. After a few moments he seemed to have found something and ran full out towards the edge of the forest. He stopped for a moment, paced back and forth, and the disappeared into the forest.

Harry took a few steps towards Dumbledore to ask him what was going on, but soon he saw Dumbledore's eyes lock on the forest once again and Harry turned to see the same centaur running back out and towards the castle. But as he approached the front steps Harry noticed that he was several feet left of the entrance and came to a stop next to one of the pillars of the castle. Three times he knocked on the pillar, then seemingly having come to some kind of conclusion he turned back around and galloped back to the spot where Dumbledore stood.

This time Harry had worked his was close enough to overhear what was being said.

"There was definitely someone there and there is definitely the air of magic being used. Whether or not he had anything to do with the attack, I do not know, but he could not have left more than half an hour ago and I would guess it was much less, possibly even after you arrived here."

"Thank you Ronan. You have been very helpful."

"A pleasure as always, Albus," Ronan replied.

Ronan left without another word and galloped right into the forest and disappeared.

Dumbledore turned to Harry with a very concerned look on his face. "Harry, would you please escort Dudley to my office. I will be up as quickly as possible."

"Yes Sir," he replied, then turned to Dudley with a very unfriendly look and nodded towards the front door.

Harry said only two words on their way to Dumbledore's office, "Parrot Pasties," despite Dudley's continuous pleas of innocence. Pointing to one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk, Harry growled "Sit!" before turning to look at the glass cases surrounding the office, though he was much to upset to really see what was in them.

After a few moments of staring at the same shelf, completely ignoring Dudley as he tried to calm himself, he jumped when he heard his name being shouted behind him.

He turned, a scowl on his face as he looked at his cousin, but he was still sitting quietly in his chair when Harry heard his name called once again, but this time he recognized the voice.

Harry turned to the place where the portrait of Phineas Nigellus hung on the wall, instead of Phineas he found Sirius standing in his place.

"Harry, what is it?" he asked concernedly. "What's happened?"

"My cousin attacked the Giant Squid," Harry spat in reply. "This is the third time he's done something like this and this time he's been caught red-handed."

"I didn't do it," Dudley suddenly shouted from his chair, then spun back and crossed his arms.

"What exactly happened, Harry?" Sirius repeated.

Harry gave him a complete, if not abridged version of what he knew. When he was done, however, Sirius did not look so much angry as he did concerned.

"I don't like the look of things, not one bit. Someone's using your cousin for some fairly dark acts, but it doesn't make any sense."

"How do you know he's being used?" Harry asked, trying not to sound too insulted at the idea of being contradicted.

"Because from what you've just told me it sounds like, well, let's just find out. Bring your cousin over here, if you would."

"Dudley, get over here," Harry said bitterly.

Dudley rose slowly, walking over with a look of distaste which reminded Harry of the same Dudley he knew from his earlier years living with the Dursley's.

"Dudley," Sirius said softly, "I want you to do me a favour."

Dudley nodded.

"I want you to think back to when you first realized you were out at the lake. Tell me exactly what you felt like when you first woke up, so to speak."

"Well, it was like I was in a dream where everything was blurry. Then, suddenly it was like being woken up after sleepwalking by being splashed with a bucket of ice water. I just suddenly realized where I was, but before I could get my Barings on what was happening, Filch grabbed my by the back of my robes and started dragging me into the castle."

"Very good," interrupted Sirius with a smile. "I'm willing to bet that as soon as Dumbledore returns we will know exactly what happened tonight."

Harry wasn't too convinced that this would be a good thing, but he didn't have much time to brood it over before Dumbledore entered his office, followed by Professors McGonagall and Sprout."

"Well now," Dumbledore began as soon as the door closed behind him, "before we continue discussing what happened this evening I though you would both be interested to know that the Giant Squid is being tended to and though his treatment will take upwards of six months, Hagrid is confident that he will have made a full recovery by the beginning of next term."

Harry gave a soft sigh of relief.

"Now then, regarding what happened…"

"Excuse me, Dumbledore," came Sirius's voice, "but I believe there is something you may not be aware of."

"You believe he may have been under the effects of a mind altering spell?" replied Dumbledore with a smile. "Yes, I am quite aware."

This was something Harry had not considered, but he wasn't going to give up on Dudley doing it of his own volition that easily.

"Wait a sec. If Dudley were put under the Imperious curse, he'd still remember what happened," Harry accused. "But he says he doesn't remember a thing."

"Indeed," replied Dumbledore. "However, as Sirius has likely already figured out, your cousin was not put under the Imperious Curse. As I am sure Professor Weasley has mentioned to you in your lessons, the Imperious Curse, while being an unforgivable curse, is not the only curse which can force you to do something against your will. In this case, for instance, the only spell I would guess had been used would have been a simple _Constrictum_ or _Impedimenta_ spell. Then his attacker would give him a Draught of Dreamless Sleep combined with one of your lesser commanding spells, such as _Multimando_ or _Iubeoquidam_."

Harry had never heard of such spells and told Dumbledore as much.

"That is not surprising, as these spells are taught only during the final term of your seventh year, along with basic memory charms. Of course, these spells are most often used by wizarding parents to direct their children when they are being uncooperative. These spells themselves are so illegal so long as it's done by a parent or guardian using it on one of their own children or one which they have been given authority over, and it may never be used on a child of eleven years or more. The only wizards or witches legally allowed use such spells on adults are members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and, of course, Aurors."

This made sense as far as it went, but what did it have to do with what happened to Dudley. Harry made to ask, but Dumbledore had already begun to answer before Harry had the chance to ask.

"Now, just as you would have issues with the victim remembering under the Imperiouscurse, so would you remember under these spells. However, one of the older but quite effective ways to force someone to do something without their remembering it is to put them into a dreamless sleep. Here, their mind is essentially left blank while they are ordered to execute the commands given by the offending wizard or witch. Since their minds are whiped clean from the after-effect of the Dreamless Sleep, the victim wakes feeling quite refreshed and alert. And most useful for the offending wizard is that they can command the victim to wake remotely or even foretell them to wake after the task is performed and since they are compelled to obey every command, this alone will release them from the command spells as well as the potion."

"And you think this is what happened to Dudley," Harry asked sceptically.

"Well, there is a simple way to find out. As I said before, this was an old combination of potion and spell uses, and as old things tend to do, it has become outdated. You see, just before Voldemort rose to power a young wizard working at St. Mungo's stumbled onto a spell which recalled memories which were magically suppressed but not _Obliterated_."

Harry furrowed his brow, trying to put things together.

"As it turns out," Dumbledore continued, "a sleeping draught causes one not to dream, but it's the after-effect from the Dragon's Gallstones which cause the lack of memory during the sleeping process and allows the user to wake so well refreshed. So, if Mr. Dursley here will assist me, I will show you how to get access to these memories.

Dudley gave a short nod, his eyes never leaving the floor. Harry assumed this was a tell of guilt, but what Dumbledore was saying did seem to make sense as well.

So Dumbledore retrieved his Pensieve from the case and placed it in front of Dudley.

"Now what I am going to do, Mr. Dursley, May I call you Dudley?" Dudley nodded. "Good. Well, Dudley, what I am going to do here is place my wand lightly on your temple. As I do this I want you to think back to a few moment before you lost consciousness. Remember walking down that corridor towards your home room. Can you remember it clearly?"

Still silent, Dudley gave a soft nod.

Dumbledore placed the tip of his wand on Dudley's temple and he continued to speak. "Now, I want you to continue to remember as completely as possible everything that happened, up to and including the time when you were asleep. Run through it in your mind. Can you see it?"

Another slight nod from Dudley, and Dumbledore slowly began to remove his wand from Dudley's temple and Harry saw a silvery string-like substance emanating from Dudley's temple, hanging onto the end of Dumbledore's wand as he continued to walk him through his memory.

Dudley verbally replayed what had happened up to the part where he lost his memory, then went completely mute. Harry thought he was done, but then realized that Dumbledore was still pulling the white substance from Dudley's temple, now a bit more quickly, until suddenly Dudley's cried, "Hey, what's going on? What am I doing here? What… Who… Hey! I didn't do it!"

At this point Dumbledore gave a slight jerk and the silvery substance dropped from Dudley's temple.

"That will be quite enough, Dudley. You did very well."

Dumbledore brought his wand over the pensive and began to lower the string. As soon as his wand tip broke the seal of the basin it severed itself from the memory. Harry watched as the single string of memory floated around in the Pensieve.

"_Cerno Memoria_." Dumbledore said softly as he tapped the edge of the Pensieve, and then Harry saw something he'd hadn't before seen in happen. The single string began to split off, and a new, neon green string unwound itself from the primary memory. As soon as it completely detached itself Dumbledore tapped the neon string and cast, "Finite Incantatum," and the neon string shrivelled up and disappeared.

"Now, with Dudley's permission, the three of us shall see what truly happened. Dudley, as it is your memory, perhaps you should go first. Simply place the tip of your wand into the basin, then touch the water with your other hand." A wry smile spread across Dumbledore's face as he turned to meet Harry's gaze with that knowing look.

Harry felt like a sodding idiot. All this time he'd bent his face into the basin because that was how he had first fallen into one of Dumbledore's memories. But upon further thought he realized that he had never seen anyone else do it this way, and he had never watched Dumbledore to it because he always dove in first.

Still feeling silly he watched as Dudley placed first his wand, then the tip of his right middle finger into the Pensieve, and suddenly his head slumped down onto his chest.

Dumbledore nodded at Harry and he too placed his wand in the Pensieve, and then with a shake of his head dropped his index finger in and felt that familiar falling feeling as he dropped into a black abyss before finding himself standing in the east tower of the castle next to Dudley.

"What's this," Dudley asked quietly. "Is this how it's supposed to be?"

"Yes," answered Dumbledore simply as he landed softly next to them. "Any moment now you should come around that corner and begin and walk down towards your House Portrait. If we are lucky, we might even see who it was that attacked you.

Sure enough, a few moments later they watched as Dudley walked Dudley come around the corner holding one of his school books and looking quite dejected. Of course, with many of the students mad at him there weren't exactly a lot of reasons for his cousin to be the happiest student at Hogwarts.

They watched as he approached them, instinctually moving out of his way as he passed by, and had only a few seconds before they saw a tall man step out from behind a suit of armour and quickly tap Dudley on the side of his head as he turned to look at his assailant. Harry took a couple of steps forward to see who it was when suddenly the world turned pitch black.

"I thought we'd be able to see what really happened to me," cried Dudley loudly.

"We will indeed. However, since you have just lost consciousness you have no true memory of what has happened, and so the world has gone so far as your mind is concerned. But if events progressed as I suspect, you should be re-opening your eyes here in just a few moments."

Sure enough, a few moments later they heard a whisper in the darkness and suddenly the lights turned back on and Harry saw 0.

Dudley standing in front of them while the mystery man stood behind them with a smoking goblet in his left hand and his wand pointed at Dudley's back.

"Now, I want you to walk out of the front door of the castle and start for the lake."

Harry tried to think back to see if he could recognize the man's voice but it was slurred and overly deep.

"It appears our friend here was well prepared. He has altered Dudley's perspective on his voice in case he later remembered something."

"But if he knew I could remember something, why wouldn't he have used a different spell?"

It was a good question, though Harry didn't want to admit it. He still wasn't completely convinced Dudley was innocent, though his conviction was beginning to waver a bit.

"Well," replied Dumbledore, "some of your more intelligent wizards are very precautious, especially when they are aware that they are surrounded by wizards with more experience then they themselves have. Whoever this student is, and I have no doubt now that it is a student, it is likely a student who is him or herself a very intelligent student or one whom is receiving their orders from one. Keep a lookout, because if this is not our master planner it is likely that he will show himself before too long. However, it looks like our friend is leading us out for the lake and we do not want to fall too far behind."

With that, Harry, Dudley, and Dumbledore quickly ran off to follow Dudley and his assailant as they headed down the staircase and down to the main hall. Just before they reached the front doors Harry took the opportunity to run ahead and see if he could get a good look at the mystery man, but where his face should have been there was nothing but a blur.

"I'm afraid that unless young Dudley here sees our friend's face, none of his features will be revealed to us. In fact, we have little reason to believe that this person even has such a physique aside from his approximate height as Dudley is creating most of his body from a generic idea of what he knows of the man who is giving him the orders. In fact, with the alteration in the voice, we cannot even be sure this person is a man, though it is historically more likely, but I'm distracting us. Come, let us see if there is anything we can..."

"There!" Harry cried out suddenly.

Pointing out around the edge of the forest, a figure stood with his arms crossed, and unlike the mystery person following behind Dudley, it seemed this person was at least partially seen as Dudley walked to the lake because the robes were unmistakeable, and Harry was quite shocked as he heard Dudley say what he was thinking.

"That can't be right. He's wearing a Ravenclaw Robe."

"Unfortunately, I do not think our big orchestrator felt it likely that Dudley would have seen him, so it is very likely that he is in fact in Ravenclaw. However, that does not mean our friend here is in the same house."

"But I though all the Dark Wizards came from Slytherin," Dudley replied.

"Unfortunately, that is not quite true. Yes, more Dark Wizards have come from Slytherin House than any other, but everyone has the ability to make that choice, and it seems at least one person from Ravenclaw has made such a choice. The question we must ask is, who?"

Unfortunately, they did not find out. Their remaining time in Dudley's memory reviled nothing about the assailants except that the person controlling Dudley was likely either a sixth or seventh year student as he had instructed Dudley to use spells that were only taught post O.W.L.s.

To watch the Giant Squid attacked was one of the most horrific scenes Harry had ever witnessed, and when it was over Harry was shocked to see that his cousin, the one re-living the events, was down on his knees, the tears flowing freely from his eyes and all over his hands.

When it was over, Dumbledore put his hands on their shoulders and Harry felt himself once again being lifted back into the real world.

When he found himself back in his body once again he found that he too had shed many tears watching the attack on the Giant Squid, but it was nothing compared to what he saw when he looked over at Dudley.

Dudley was already back on his knees in front of the desk, his shirt and cloak soaked in his own tears, his heads shaking violently back and forth as he repeated to himself, "I didn't do it. I didn't do it," over and over again.

No matter what he felt of his cousin for his continuous betrayal since he returned to school, Harry could not help but feel sorry for Dudley as he continued to cry. After a brief pause Harry walked over and placed his hand on Dudley's shoulder and tried to convey his confidence in his cousin through his hand. Dumbledore had done this as well, and after a few moments Dudley raised his eyes looking completely vulnerable and nothing like his usual self.

Later, Harry would wonder what exactly possessed him to do so, but when Dudley looked into his eyes, Harry bent down, grabbed his cousin under each arm, and pulled him up into what he could only imagine was a brotherly hug, as he had no previous point of reference from which to compare.

Dudley seemed to have been taken by surprise, but his heart gave in where his brain would usually have protested. Soon Harry felt Dudley pull tight into the hug and Harry held his cousin as he unloaded on his one time rival.

Harry wasn't sure how long they stood there before Dudley finally let go of him, but when they finally broke apart he found the office empty, with the single exception of Dumbledore who sat behind his desk watching in grave appreciation as the boys broke apart and looked back at their headmaster.

"Sit," Dumbledore said. It was a simply request, but both Dudley and Harry accepted it as though it were an order.

"We now know that you are innocent of these crimes, but I fear we have no evidence we can use to prove it. In fact, as evidence is concerned, Dudley is more likely to be found guilty than innocent."

"But what about the memory we just saw," Harry interrupted. "Surely that's enough proof right there."

"Unfortunately, it is not. As far as the wizarding world is concerned, memories by themselves are never evidence enough to acquit or convict because they are too easily tampered with, added with the basic inaccuracies that come from one's own perspective of what they've seen. Remember, truth only exists in the minds of those deciding the truth. And in addition to all of this, in this case the memory has been tampered with both our mysterious assailant as well by myself when I reconstructed it."

"But if you fixed it…" Dudley began.

"Whether it was to fix your memory or not, wizarding law says that once it has been tampered with at all, a memory is deemed changed and thus inadmissible as any type of evidence. Of course we are not in a court of law so my decision is final. I am, of course, not going to punish you for what seems to be no fault of your own, but neither can I tell the school who did or did not commit the attack on the Squid, so I think it best if I simply announce that the attacker has not been identified at this time and leave it at that."

"But that means that everyone's going to blame Dudley for what happened since most of the school is already convinced he's guilty in the previous attacks. Not to mention our two witnesses and at least two others who were involved. I doubt Dudley's going to come out of this without being labelled as the attacker again."

"Unfortunately, I believe you are correct. Of course I will instruct the students at tomorrows breakfast that Dudley is not to be held responsible for what happened to the Giant Squid, but I would not hold out for any miracles coming from this. My best suggestion is that we find whoever is truly behind these attacks as quickly as possible. The heads of house have already called for an emergency meeting of the prefects who will be informed of what we know. We can only hope that with their assistance we can track down our Mystery men."

"Well, at least we know one of them is in Ravenclaw," Harry added.

"Well, I have been thinking about that too. While it is likely that he is in Ravenclaw, do not rule out the possibility that this was also a ruse to sidetrack us from the truth. Of course, this is fairly unlikely, but it is still a possibility."

"But what about the students picking on Dudley. They're not likely to believe he didn't do it after the past instances, even if you say so. No offence."

"None taken, Harry. I am not beyond believing that there are some things the students of this school would ignore from me, which is why any help you would be willing to give your cousin would be greatly appreciated. I know I've said this in the past, but your support for your cousin will go a long way in this school, much further in fact than anything I could say to them."

Harry nodded, not willing to look Dumbledore in the eye. If Dumbledore knew how little he'd supported Dudley in the past… Harry didn't even want to think about it.

"Well, I dare say it is getting late and we still have classes in the morning. Harry, since we were unable to meet today, shall I assume we can meet next week instead?"

Harry nodded in reply, suddenly feeling the stress of the past two days catch up with him.

"Very well. Good evening gentlemen. And please remember that while I do carry a busy schedule I will always make time for my students when they have need of me."

Neither having anything to add, Harry and Dudley rose and walked quietly out of the headmaster's office and down to the staircase.

The walk itself took just a little over a minute, yet to Harry it felt more like an hour. With all that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, added to all that had happened with him and Dudley over the past six months, he couldn't help but dissect his rivalry-friendship with his passive-aggressive relationship with his cousin.

Six months ago he hated his loud, obnoxious cousin, before Dudley became a Slyder, and then over the next three months they became the best of friends. But less than a month after they were at school, everything fell back into the world of hate-hate. Now they were back to square one. What had changed?

_What had changed_? As he thought about it he realized that this had been one question he'd never bothered asking before now. _Why was that,_ he asked himself.

"Harry?" came Dudley's voice from what seemed like a mile away.

"Wha?"

"Are you okay?" Dudley asked sincerely.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied numbly, then before he could stop himself he asked, "Dudley, why have you been acting like a complete git since we came to school?"

Dudley opened his mouth to argue, stopped, then stopped and stood there for half a minute before he replied. Harry barely recognized the next voice to come from his cousin's mouth.

"You know, when I first found out I'd started doing magic, the first thing I thought was you had cast some spell on me and turned me into some kind of freak as some kind of revenge for all those things I'd done to you through the years. But by the time I got out of school I kinda realized, and I didn't really know why or how, but I just knew that it wasn't your fault I'd become a Wizard, or Slyder, or whatever."

Harry nodded softly, trying not to interrupt.

"Then when you helped me out back when we were back home, well, I really did appreciate it. But when I got to school and everyone started treating me like a celebrity, well, I admit it went to my head and I reverted to what I knew."

"In other words, you started picking on me because it's what worked when we were in primary school."

"Yeah. But of course I didn't realize this would piss off more people than it would amuse and before long I just became the sorry excuse for a second hand Harry Potter. Worse, some stories started to get around about how I treated you when we were young and all of the sudden I was public enemy number one. Then all these weird things started happening around me, you know, like the owls and the squid."

"Of course not everyone hated me, like Ginny for instance, but she wasn't exactly rushing to become my friend either. And of course after the owls she didn't want anything to do with me. The only person now who'll even talk to me is that Ravenclaw girl, Loony Lovegood, and she's not exactly my first pick for a friend."

"Well, maybe you should loosen your restrictions on who you want to be friends with. Luna's actually a pretty nice person once you get to know her."

"Yeah, she said you knew her. Said something about a fieldtrip you went on last year with her and a couple others, but she wouldn't elaborate. Said it was up to you to tell me, if you wanted."

"Yeah, maybe some other time. So look, what I want to know is, now that we're where we are now, are you going to continue acting like a git or do you think you can start acting like a real person again."

Dudley didn't respond, at least not verbally, but Harry got the impression from the silence that he wanted to answer but didn't know how without sounding stupid.

"Look, I'll make it easy on yah. Ron, Hermione and I are all going to go down to Hagrid's tomorrow afternoon for tea, some time around three. If you want, you can join us and we'll see how things go from there."

It was Dudley's turn to nod, and following a few seconds of silence he turned and started down the staircase.

"Dudley," Harry called as his cousin reached the midway point of the staircase.

Dudley turn and looked up at Harry, the stress of recent weeks weighing hard of his face.

"I should've believes you about the owls and the squid," Harry said softly. "I… I'm sorry."

He could immediately see a change in Dudley's attitude. He gave a weak smile and replied a brief "Thanks" before turning back around and continuing down the stairs, though Harry noticed his steps were a bit quicker, a little more fluid, and as he turned the corner for the next flight of stairs Harry saw soft smile on his cousin's face, the kind you see when someone's genuinely happy for themselves.

Harry turned and began climbing the staircase for Gryffindor Tower, smiling to himself.

Dudley was now ostracized from the rest of the school. Maybe that's what he needed. The past summer had shown Harry that his cousin could be a decent person when he wanted to. Perhaps he could be one again, if not out of desire then perhaps out of necessity.

"Well, it's the best I'm going to get for now," Harry said quietly to himself as he ascended the staircase.

_But how long will it last this time?_ Harry asked himself, not willing to say it out loud.

_How long can it last?_

1-888-DISH-HELP


	28. Chapter 28 Winter Romances

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 28

Winter Romances

The day following the attack on the squid Harry awoke for the fifth time with a dull headache working it's way slowly through his eyes. Nothing had happened with his scar; He'd simply had a horrible night's sleep.

Nearly every hour he had woken with his heart pounding. In one dream he found himself fighting with Dudley for attacking the Giant Squid, the next dream he'd be defending Dudley against the entire school led by a mirror image of himself, although this alternate version had a flattened nose and eyes which were not green but pitch black and reminded him remarkably of a snake.

This final time when he woke he checked his watch and, deciding he was not likely to get any more sleep, decided to get up and take an early shower. It was only four forty-eight in the morning.

As he needn't use his glasses to walk to the washroom, it wasn't until he was getting dress that he discovered a small letter lying underneath his glasses. He quickly adjusted his glasses and opened the letter. It was quite straight and to the point.

Dear Harry,

After speaking to the staff following our talk of the previous evening and having found no evidence with which to track down our mystery man, we have decided that, unfortunate as it may be, we have no choice but to withhold what little we know of Dudley's innocence as we find it unlikely that we will be able to apprehend the culprit until he strikes again. Dudley has already been approached and has bravely agreed to accept the added accusations from the school until some further evidence surfaces or another attack takes place. Therefore, I would ask that you not share any details of the memory with your fellow students (with the usual exceptions of course) though if you feel up to showing some family support for your cousin, the staff and I would be grateful.

In addition, as we will be withholding everything we learned regarding Dudley's involvement with the Giant Squid, this means we will also be withholding the evidence we gathered when we performed the _Prior Incantatum _spell we used on his wand. Of course this means that any accusations made towards Dudley's guilt or innocence will be purely circumstantial. We hope this will help keep the inconvenience to Dudley and his **friends **to a minimum.

With many thanks,

Dumbledore

Harry looked thoughtfully at the word "friends". It was obvious that Dumbledore was trying to emphasise this Harry's friendship with his cousin for some reason. Was it merely a coincidence that he mentioned it now? Dumbledore had asked him on several occasions to look +

after Dudley, but this was the first time Harry could remember that Dumbledore was referencing his friendship with his cousin instead of simply looking after him for the sake of his cousin's own safety.

Whatever Dumbledore meant by it, Harry couldn't find it to be simply coincidence that his headmaster mentioned it on this particular day. Whatever it was, Dumbledore had a reason for putting it in those specific words, and so Harry's internal controversy as to whether or not he'd give his cousin a second chance was ended. If Dumbledore wanted him to give Dudley a second chance, he would. After all, he was right about Snape, wasn't he?

Well, maybe that was a bad example.

Harry met Ron and Hermione down at the breakfast table and after getting a few quick bites in began going over everything that had happened over the previous twenty-four hours.

"I told you he didn't do it," Hermione said with a quick punch at Ron's arm.

"Just because he didn't do it this time doesn't mean he's innocent of those other attacks," Ron answered as he rubbed his arm.

"I doubt it. You should have seen his face when we were in the Pensieve. He looked completely mortified. I don't know who or why, but someone's been setting him up from day one."

Hermione was just about to add her thoughts to this when Hagrid walked in and headed straight for Harry.

"Hello there, Harry. Was wonder'n if I could have a word with you fer a moment outside." Harry nodded and followed Hagrid into the Entrance Hall.

"I just wanted you ter know first, and maybe tell yer cousin too, that Inky's gonna be jus fine."

Harry furrowed his brow for a moment before realizing that "Inky" would be Hagrid's pet name for the Giant Squid.

"That's good news, Hagrid. Thanks."

"No problem at all. Listen, there was another reason I came by. I was wonderin if you might be up fer helping me with a little problem I've been havin with Grawp."

"What's wrong?" Harry did not like the sound of a Giant having any sort of problems, especially since he'd seen what kind of problems Grawp had had during the previous year.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. It's just that… Well, you'll see when you come along. Won't take but a couple o' hours at the most. Oh, and mind you bring Hermione and Ron too, but especially Hermione. I think she'd be right useful."

"Okay," Harry said tentatively, "but what's wrong. I mean, are you sure it isn't something maybe one of the professor's wouldn't be more prepared for?" He hoped he didn't sound too unfavourable about the whole idea, but frankly the idea of going out again to meet Grawp was not very high on Harry's to-do list, and helping the giant with his problem, whatever it was, did not sound like fun. But Hagrid didn't seem to pick up on this.

"Nah, nothing to worry the professors about. Just a little issue really. If we could jus' meet up on Friday, tha'd be great."

Harry reluctantly agreed, and Hagrid thanked him before rushing back out towards his hut. Now that Harry thought about it, he didn't see Hagrid much now that he was a student again since his was one of the few classes he didn't have to take.

As Dumbledore had put it, "Hagrid has proven himself quite able to take care of himself. I see no need for him to require any but the most basic of classes to complete his school requirements by the end of the year so that he may get his wizarding license."

"Besides," he added, a twinkle in his eye, "there are few wizards in the world who would know how to attack Hagrid before he had a chance to respond in his own unique way, and there are even fewer wizards who would be willing to try. Trust me Harry when I say that an angry Hagrid is not one you would want to find charging after you."

Harry nodded. He'd never seen Hagrid angry, nor really even though of it as a possibility. Though he was truly enormous, Hagrid always came off to Harry as a very kind and gentle person, but he had to admit that an angry Hagrid would probably be a very scary picture.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts he returned to the Gryffindor table and told Hermione and Ron that Hagrid wanted to meet them for a little help with Grawp the following Friday. They were less than enthusiastic about the idea of going on an unexplained mission to help Hagrid's brother but relented all the same.

Since Dudley was going to be spending more time hanging with him, Ron, and Hermione, Harry thought it might be smart to invite Neville and Luna back into their ranks. With any luck the three of them might bond and create their own little group while imposing as little as possible on him, Ron, and Hermione.

They all decided the best way to do this was to invite them all up for tea in Harry's office a couple times a week, along with Amanda and Davie of course, and Ron had even asked to bring Parvati, though Harry told him he needn't have asked since they were still officially dating. Harry was more than a little relieved to hear that Ron had stopped blaming himself for being with her during the Ministry attack, though he noticed they were quite a bit less affectionate with each other than they had been before the Ball.

Their first few gatherings did not go especially well since Dudley took it upon himself to keep to the far side of the classroom by himself, rarely listening to the rest of them but rather working studiously on whatever homework he might have at the time. Harry got the impression Dudley felt more like he was being given detention rather than invited to tea, but no matter what he said he could not get him to participate with the rest of them.

They had tea again on Wednesday and Thursday, Tuesday was reserved for Quidditch Practice, and Dudley still had not made any further attempts at socializing, nor did he showed any signs of complaining. He would simply go to the classroom following dinner and find his familiar post in the corner and begin doing his homework. Harry was of the impression that Dudley simply enjoyed the privacy of not being harassed by his fellow Hufflepuffs.

And so when Thursday came around and Dudley was in the classroom again, this time having arrived even before Harry, and was studiously working on his potions homework when he suddenly perked up at the mention of his name.

"Wha's that?" he asked softly.

"What?" Harry replied instinctively, not realizing Dudley had been listening. "Oh, I was just telling Luna about your experience in boxing."

"My uncle is a boxer," Luna said in a sing-song voice. "He's a squib, and he likes to box. Says there's nothing so rewarding as giving another man a good walloping."

Dudley nodded, then went back to work on his paper.

Harry sighed audibly, disheartened by the fact that he thought he'd finally brought Dudley into their talks only to have him sink back into seclusion. Luna, on the other hand, was not going to give up on him so quickly.

"So Harry tells me that you used to box at your old school," she continued as though Dudley had not just turned his attention away from them. "What was your record?"

"Nin-n-won," he said quickly in barely a whisper.

"NINE AND ONE!" she cried as though this were an astounding verdict. Dudley nearly jumped from his chair at this sudden outburst.

"Yeah, Nine decisions and one draw," he cried back defensively, backing up against the wall.

"Incredible. And no losses?"

"Not yet," Dudley replied, a little less defensive now, "though I guess that'll be pretty permanent now since I won't be doing that anymore."

For a moment, Harry thought he might have even seen a glint in his cousin's eye as he looked back at Luna.

"Well my uncle is forty-one and eight with two draws. If you want, I'd love to introduce you some time. I bet you could trade loads of stories."

It suddenly struck him as odd that the most normal conversation he'd ever had with Luna would turn out to be about a Muggle sport like boxing.

And even before he brought his thoughts back to their conversation it became suddenly obvious that his presence was no longer needed. Luna had suddenly become more animated than Harry had ever seen her and Dudley seemed to have taken a Pepper-up potion for all the fun he seemed to take in talking with her.

Harry smiled and went back to talking to Ron and Hermione while Amanda gently laid her head on his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "That was nice of you, Harry. They make a pretty cute couple," she added, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"They really do," Harry agreed.

"How did you know her uncle was into boxing?" she asked breathlessly while nibbling on his earlobe.

It took a few moments of concentration before he spurted out, "Didn't" between soft moans.

"Then how did you know they'd get along so well?" She asked, no longer working on his ears.

"Didn't," he repeated. "Sometimes things just find a way of working themselves out," he added, staring at her beautiful blue eyes.

"Speaking of workouts," she replied, tracing her fingers down his stomach and towards…

"Hey now. If you brought us up here just for a show, you could at least have brought us some sweets," Ron replied grumpily, though Harry noticed he still had his arm around Parvati's shoulder.

The rest of the week proved impossible for anyone to find either Dudley or Luna without the other attached at the hand, if not at the lips, and Harry was glad that his cousin was beginning to show signs of humanity again. He quickly realized that, while it was hard to understand, he quite missed the Dudley he had spent the previous holiday with.

Once Harry realised this, his thoughts were quickly brought back to Hagrid. He decided to ask everyone if they'd like to join him when he went to meet Hagrid and that maybe they could go a bit early so they might get a little homework done there before he, Ron, and Hermione joined him for their secret trip.

Ginny and Davie agreed and even volunteered to go with them on the secret trip, assuming Hagrid agreed, since they were now quite anxious to find out about the secret too. But when Harry mentioned they'd be going to see Hagrid's little brother who also happened to be twice Hagrid's size, they both suddenly remembered things they would have to do before dinner and would have to leave promptly before their secret trip, whatever time it happened to be at.

Since Ginny, Luna, and Dudley all had similar class schedules they would to go down to Hagrid's after their Charms class and Harry and the rest would meet them an hour later after D.A.D.A. So with everything planned, Harry approached Hagrid to let him know they'd all be coming down. But as it turned out, all their planning was for naught.

"Oh, I'd really love to have the group of you around," Hagrid said with a huge smile, "but something's come up with that thing I told you about and it'll gonna take some workin' on ta get things fixed. But don' you fret none. I expect we can do it on Monday instead, if'n yeh still want o' course."

"Of course," replied Harry quickly "We were just hoping to spend a little extra time with you before the Holidays since…" Harry suddenly realized they hadn't told Hagrid about the medallions and the trip to America and felt it might be best to save that for their group meeting. "Hold on, what's happened with that secret thing with your brother?" Harry inquired, hoping Hagrid wouldn't notice the quick subject change. He didn't.

"Oh, nothing to worry about. I'm jus' gonna take a few more days to get 'er down here is all."

"Get who down here?" he inquired, now completely intrigued, but Hagrid would have nothing of it.

"Oh, I shouldn'ta said that. Nearly let the cat out'a the bag, din' I," he added shaking his head. "No, you'll find out next week and not until then."

Try as he might, Harry could not get any more information from Hagrid about this _surprise_ and finally gave up and asked Hagrid about the other things that were going on at school. As it turned out, being around Hogwarts for the better part of half a century since his expulsion had meant that almost everything he needed to know regarding magic had come quite easily to him.

"Professor Dumbledore said I might even be able to take me N.E.W.T.s for Charms and Defence 'Ganst the Dark Arts During the Holidays. He's already given me a pass on Care o' Magical Creatures since I taught it fer two years, and then Professor Sprout tested me fer Herbology on my firs' day back which I passed, _barely_," he added in a whisper, grinning beneath his gruff beard.

"So all that leaves me with is Potions and Transfiguration at the end of the year and, assumin' I pass, I'll be an official member of the wizarding world by the Summer Holidays."

"That's great, Hagrid. I'm very proud of you," Harry added as he gave Hagrid a great big hug.

They spent a few more minutes talking about their schedule when Harry mentioned his trip to America and why he was going. Hagrid smiled as Harry told him about the three medallions, but the moment Harry mentioned the Tomb of Hogwarts Hagrid suddenly became quite panicked and rushed off, claiming he'd just remembered some charms homework he needed to work on.

Harry shook his head and started back to the castle, but the more he thought about the way Hagrid had just acted the faster his feet began to carry him so that he was sprinting through the Entrance Hall and by the time he went through the Portrait Hole he was completely out of breath but still looking about frantically for Ron and Hermione to tell them Hagrid's reaction to his mentioning the Tomb.

Unfortunately, a quick search of the room showed they were not there. Figuring he could find them on the map, he took a couple steps towards the boys staircase before Ginny suddenly called out to him.

"Harry! Where have you been. Ron and Hermione have been searching everywhere for you."

"Where are they?" he asked breathlessly.

"They went up to your classroom just a few minutes ago. They said they had some really important information for you."

"Well I've got some news for them too. I'll see if I can catch up to them."

"NO!" Ginny cried as Harry ran for the Portrait Hole. "They said to keep you right here and that if you turned up to have you put Common room on that coin you were using last year for the D.A. and they'd come back here for you."

"Thanks," Harry said quickly as he turned on his heels, rushed up the boys staircase, and burst through the door. He dove straight for his trunk and started wading through it quickly, tossing clothes recklessly amid complaints from his dorm-mates about as he searched for the small coin. Finally, when nearly all his trunk had been emptied he finally found the small coin lying between two of his books from the previous year. He quickly pocketed it and waved his wand at his clothes which quickly packed themselves back into his trunk which had already locked itself by the time he began descending the stairs.

Just as he was approaching the common room he heard his name yelled from above him and he soon heard someone running down behind him.

"Harry! How'd you do... That!" he finally coughed out, completely out of breath.

Harry was so caught up with remembering exactly how he had to change the coin that he barely acknowledged his fellow sixth-year.

"Sorry?" he finally responded feebly, still concentrating on the coin.

"Upstairs... you just did a silent spell up there," he spurted out in one breath.

"Damn," Harry replied, tapping the coin with his wand again, then looked up at the red face of Seamus. "Sorry, I did what?"

"Just now. You were throwing your clothes all over the place..."

"Oh," Harry interrupted, not really paying attention. "Yeah, did I leave something out? I'll clean it up in a minute. I'm just trying to..."

"No, it's all back in your trunk, but what we want to know is, HOW'D YOU DO IT?"

"_Attaché Efficia_. It makes all your stuff pack itself back into your trunk. You should know it since it was on our last charms exam."

"BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY IT!" Seamus cried, obviously annoyed at Harry's casualness about the whole thing.

"Of course I said it," Harry replied softly. "How else would it have worked?"

"That's what I've been asking you, you... GIT!" Seamus cried, flustered beyond any further words.

Harry was saved from trying to figure things out as Ron and Hermione burst through the door at that precise moment, spotted Harry, and sprinted for him looking urgently.

"What's up," Harry asked seeing the terrified looks on their faces.

Neither spoke, but Hermione opened a copy of the evening edition of the Daily Prophet and thrust it into Harry's hand. Whatever concerns he previously had had disappeared as he read the headline.

**DELORES JANE UMBRIDGE ANNOUNCES HER **

**CANIDACY FOR MINISTER OF MAGIC**

Delores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the former Minister of Magic and former Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor of Hogwarts announced her intention to run for Minister of Magic this morning at a quiet press conference held at the Ministry Entrance Hall. Her long resume working for the Ministry includes work as the Secretary to the Head of The International Office of Law, Three years as head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and Seven years of combined experience working under several of our Ministry Heads in the Wizengamot Administration Services. With such a lengthy resume and..."

Harry didn't get a chance to finish reading as a Post Owl began fluttering angrily against one of the common room windows. A first year close to the window opened it and made to take the letter from it's leg but before he had the chance it flew across the room to Harry and landed on his shoulder, it's leg now offering itself to it's recipient.

Harry quickly took the parchment from the owls leg which unceremoniously flew back out the window and opened his letter. It was from Dumbledore and was a very short letter.

Harry,

I have just read a copy of this morning's Daily Prophet. I realize that this may have come as a bit of a shock to you and you may have questions regarding the outcome and I wish to assure you that everything is in hand. Professor McGonagall will go over the details with you in her office just before your Animagus training. Until then, I would ask that you keep anything we have discussed regarding the appointment of a new Minister to yourself, with the normal exceptions of course.

Regards,

Albus Dumbledore.

"What it is Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"It's from Dumbledore about the Prophet article. He's asking me not to say anything about it to anyone. McGonagall's going to tell me about it just before our Animagus Training tonight."

"But how does that cow think she's even got a chance after what happened here last year?" Ron asked.

"Because she's got a nearly impeccable career, at least on paper, and I'll bet she's got a way to spin it all around so that it looks like she did nothing wrong."

"But she was going to cast an unforgivable curse at a student."

Harry stirred a little. He _had _cast the _Cruciatus _curse on that very same day, though nobody had approached him about it and he had yet to volunteer this to anyone, even Ron or Hermione. "More importantly," he said trying to change the subject, "how can she expect anyone to vote for her when she was against Dumbledore all last year and even sacked him when now everyone knows that he was right and she was wrong?"

"Because she'll blame it on a general consensus of the Ministry and say that one of the first things she'll do as an experienced employee of the Ministry is to use her experience to fix those problems. It won't matter that it's bogus. People just want to see someone who shows that he or she knows what their doing in that office, and I'll bet a thousand Galleons that she calls Fudge a hero and boasts about how great he was. She knows that she can then feed off him since she was his Undersecretary so all she has to do is make him a star and she can just ride along in his wake."

"She can't get away with it," Ron and Harry both exclaimed.

"She's got to be stopped."

They all agreed and spent the rest of their free time trying to figure out ways to stop Umbridge from becoming Minister of Magic. They each came to the same conclusion. The Order needed to get behind someone and start pushing fast and hard. This reminded Harry of his suggestion at the staff meeting from the previous month, but when he told Ron and Hermione about it they both dropped their jaws.

"How could you suggest that git?" Ron finally asked.

"Because with his memory so flustered he'd probably be pretty easy for the Order to control. I'm not saying it's the best, but I don't see that we have many other good ideas."

"What about Amelia Bones? She's head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's done a lot of good as of late."

"That was suggested, but when I mentioned Lockhart, well, Dumbledore seemed thrilled at the idea."

"What's he playing at. I don't care what condition he's in. Lockhart's was a loon and a fraud before he got himself lobotomized and I doubt he's any better now."

"I don't know. It was kind of a fleeting idea and I'm not so sure about it now, but..." Harry stopped and looked down at his watch. "Well, it's nearly eleven now and we've got Animagus training first thing in the morning. I don't know about you two, but I'm getting to bed before it's too late."

As soon as they heard the time, both Ron and Hermione gave a yawn and turned towards their dorms, Harry following behind Ron.

Soon Harry was changed and in bed, tired and ready for sleep. But his mind kept reminding him of the possibility saying, "Delores Umbridge, Minister of Magic," and it was well after midnight before he finally drifted off to sleep, a picture of a large toad in a bowler cap sitting on top of Fudge's desk and spitting out her tongue, capturing a slew of flies that were flying about the office, each one looking like a miniature Harry with wings.

The following morning Harry spoke to McGonagall and got much less information than he had expected, especially considering the recent flow of information that he'd gotten from her about similar issues, but she did tell him that there were very specific reasons, politically, as to why there were allowing Umbridge to go unchallenged at the present time.

"The Headmaster knows what he's doing," she'd said to him when he'd made an un-approving face. "He believes that there is a place and time in which Lockhart should announce his running for Minister of Magic as he will go over with you next week during your training exercises, as he has a plan for you in this whole thing." She waved her hand off as though ridding herself of a bug as she said this. Harry remembered how little she seemed to have liked Lockhart when he worked at Hogwarts during Harry's second year and he couldn't imagine her feeling could have changed much over the past three years.

"But what does he want me to do? I mean, I'm not going to be running for office with him, am I?" he asked incredulously.

"No, of course not. As I said, he will go over it all when he speaks to you next week. What he wanted me to say to you was simply that he did have a specific plan regarding this subject and that you should trust that he has his reasons. He is not keeping this from you, he simply feels he should tell you himself and at the moment he has his hands full with other things, such as arranging a portkey for your trip during the holidays."

"You know about that?" he asked a bit too loudly.

"Of course. I think you sometimes forget that I am deputy Headmistress of this school, Mr Potter," she said in a scolding voice, though a rare smile peeked behind her lips, though only for a moment.

"Yes, of course," Harry replied, a little embarrassed at his implication.

"In any event, as the Headmaster has everything in order, he has asked me to pass on to you once more the importance of not discussing the Ministry election to any of your fellow students and that you are to impress upon Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley the importance of their keeping quiet as well, at least until the Headmaster says otherwise."

"So I will be able to tell others that I don't want Umbridge as the Minister of Magic?"

"When the time is right, yes. But I cannot say any more, as I have told you three times now. Dumbledore will go over everything with you next week. Now, on to your Animagus training," she said, closing the topic from any further discussion.

After the Prophet article and McGonagall's talk, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were so caught up with frustration on having to keep quiet about Umbridge since the entire school was now talking about it, (the Slytherins were wearing _UMBRIDGE FOR MINISTER _badges wherever they went,) that added with Neville, Luna and Dudley, along with planning for their trip to America, Harry had completely forgotten about their trip to Hagrid's until Sunday night. It was Hermione who had mentioned it.

"So what do you think that surprise is that Hagrid's got cooked up for us?" she asked uncertainly.

"Knowing him, he's probably decided that his _little brother's _gotten too house trained and wants us to teach him how to be more menacing," Ron suggested.

"Really, Ron. This is serious. He's a bit, scary, don't you think? I mean, what could he want us to do, and why was he so persistent on me?"

"Probably cause Grawp likes to have his little Hermy around."

Hermione pulled out her wand so quickly Harry barely saw it until all of the pillows in the common room had already started throwing themselves at him.

Harry tried to chastise her, but it was too funny for him to get out the words through his laughter.

The next day after classes they all met at the Entrance Hall and headed down to meet Hagrid.

When they arrived at his hut they found Hagrid looking over a book and waving his new wand, a twenty inch Maplewood with a dragon heartstring core, through the air and transfiguring his cauldron into a squid, then a small table, and then back into a cauldron again. Considering Harry hadn't had a chance to watch Hagrid perform any magic legally, he was very surprised to see how far he'd come so fast.

"Yeh gotta remember, Harry," he responded when Harry had said so, "that I had a full three years teachin' in me before I was expelled and I've been 'round this school fer another fifty years after. Yeh' can't be around a school like this fer that long withou' learn'n yer'self a thing or two 'bout magic."

Harry nodded and smiled back, but it quickly disappeared when Hagrid added, "Well, might as well get goin' now rather than later. After all, it is getting dark awfully early these days. But since I can use magic now, it'll at least be a lot quicker gettin' there than last time."

They all nodded in response and when he looked over he noticed Ginny, Davie and Amanda were already packed and heading for the door. "Well, good luck you three!" Ginny called as she walked out the door. Davie and Amanda repeated the same and closed the door behind them just as Hagrid opened the back door for them.

When they got outside they saw one of the Hogwarts carriages parked there headed by four Thestrals, though only Hagrid and Harry could see them, and after the three of them got in Hagrid called back to them, "'Twill only take a few ter get there this way. If we're a bit lucky we can get yeh' back here 'fore it gets dark.

Their eyes widened as they thought of being in the Forest at night, but they were quickly shaken out of this thought when the carriage suddenly dropped several inches and swayed momentarily left to right and they were just barely able to catch their bearings when it jolted forward into the Forest.

Hagrid had not been exaggerating when he said it would only take a few minutes to reach their destination. With four Thestrals pulling the carriage they were moving quite fast. Harry thought he heard something chasing them for a few seconds, but the sound soon trailed off and before he knew it they were slowing down, and a few moments later they felt the carriage bounce up as Hagrid dismounted the carriage and opened the door for them.

"Come on now, it's just a little further up here," he said with a big smile.

They all got out, happy to be on solid ground again, and followed Hagrid through a group of trees and out to a small pasture where a large hole held a giant sized campfire with some kind of unidentifiable meat skewered between two pyramids of branches. Beyond the fire they saw Grawp stepping in between the trees.

"Ah, there's o'l Grawpie."

Harry looked at Hagrid's little brother, all sixteen feet of him, and for all of Harry's expertise in the field of giants, which wasn't any, he couldn't see any evidence of a problem. He was just about to ask, but Hagrid beat him to it.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, yeh've all met Grawp. And this here," he said, moving his had to the left, "is Fratilda,"

They all looked to where Hagrid was pointed and gave a collective gasp. At the end of the clearing, bent over and still no less than nine feet tall and wide as Grawp was a female giant bobbing her head up and down as though coughing or choking on something. But when she slowly raised her head they could see that she had not been coughing at all, she'd been crying.

Coming Soon

Chapter 29


	29. Chapter 29 Customs and Politics

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 29

Customs and Politics

Hermione shrieked.

More out of instinct that anything else, Harry quickly grabbed Hermione and clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Nice and quiet," Harry whispered in her ear. Hermione nodded and he took his hand away.

"Blimey, what's she doing here?" asked Ron.

"Well, like I said 'fore. I thought it'd be nice to find Grawpie a friend. Madam Maxine found her with her Dad and brother lying dead beside her. She's been staying in the mountains near Beauxbatons ever since, and when I tol' her about Grawp, well, she said it might be nice to put them t'gether, see what happens."

"So that's why she's crying?" Hermione asked. "Because of her Dad and brother?"

"Ah, no. That was many months ago now. Nah, she's unhappy cause in her clan's it's the man who's ta initiate relations but o'l Grawpie's from a clan tha's not s'posed to do nothin' till the lady giant invites him. That way the Gurg can control who's with who and tells the lady giants who they can be with. Well, tha's not the case with either o'them here and I can't seem to find how to get one o' them to get started with the other."

"Oh," they all said in unison.

"Yeh, well, that's what's happinin' now. She's upset cause he won't approach her while he's waitin' over there fer her to invite him and she can't figure out what she's got ta do?"

"Oh my" Hermione cried mournfully. "Well of course we'll help Hagrid. It's just, well, what can we do?"

"Well, as I'm Grawp's brother an all I thought it might be too intrudin' if I butted in, but maybe if you could speak t'her she might open up and talk to yeh while Ron, Harry and I talk to Grawp and find out what it is she's t' do to invite him."

"There's no way I'm letting Hermione alone with a giant, even if it is a woman," Ron blurted out. Harry shirked back, expecting Hagrid to take this personally, but Hagrid just nodded as though he'd expected it.

"All right then. You go with Hermione and Harry an' I will talk to Grawp."

Ron's eyes shot wide when he realised what had just happened and Harry got the sudden feeling like Hagrid had actually planned it as such which was confirmed when Hagrid had whispered "Tha' worked nicely," then gave Harry a quick a wink.

Harry couldn't suppress giving him a great big smile. "You know, you're a lot more cunning than people give you credit for."

Now it was Hagrid's turn to give Harry a big smile. But a moment later their faces turned serious as they approached Hagrid's _little _brother.

Grawp looked up at them and broke out in a huge smile that exposed his grossly uncared-for teeth. It was all Harry could do to keep down his lunch as he saw several small pieces of raw meat dangling ominously between his huge teeth and over his bloody and rotten gums. Harry surmised that Giant's didn't put much care into dental hygiene and wondered how Hermione would be holding up if Fratilda kept similar dental habits. He couldn't help but give a small sigh of relief when Grawp dropped his smile when Hagrid said hello.

"Hagger!" he replied loudly. "Grawp is happy to see Hagger! And Hagger bring friends Hermey and Harree too."

Harry wasn't sure if he was flattered or frightened that Grawp had remembered his name considering he'd butchered both Hermione's and Hagrid's.

"Well, I though' they might be able to keep you company. Harry here's quite the lady killer, yeh know," Hagrid added bluntly. _Well that was real subtle_, Harry thought.

"Er, yes. Hagrid mentioned you had a lady friend here and I wanted to see how you two are getting along," he shouted.

Grawp's face dropped a little.

"I don't thin' Fra-til-da is happy with Grawp. She doesn't invite Grawp. Grawp won't take wha's not his."

"What do you mean invite?" Harry shouted back.

"Hmm?"

"How is she supposed to invite you?"

"Like all giantess invite." Grawp replied simply, shaking his head as though Harry were daft.

"Oh," Harry answered. What he needed to do was to try to approach it from a different angle. "Well, in the wizarding world it's the men that invite the women by asking her on a date. For instance, when I started dating my current girlfriend Amanda I asked her to go with me to Hogsmeade for the day."

Grawp looked at him with wide eyes. Then he turned his eyes to Hagrid with a look of mixed anger and embarrassment. Then he whispered to Hagrid, though Harry could hear him, "Why Hagger not tell him Harree was a Gurg?"

"Wha? No, Harry's not a Gurg. Wizards don't have Gurgs 'xactly. I mean, they've got people in charge, but it's a lot different than our ways. Wizards and witches are free to mate whoever they want so long as they both agree."

Grawp shook his head. He obviously thought this was a barbaric way to do things.

"But there are different customs to how to approach someone," added Harry sensing they might be losing some kind of respect. "Sometimes you have to ask permission from someone's parents before you court someone, and normally you have to bring the other person home to meet your family, you know, to get their approval."

Grawp looked cautiously at Harry for a few moments, likely deciding if he was going to believe Harry, and finally decided he needed a second opinion from Hagrid.

"Oh sure," Hagrid bellowed. "All the time. Trust me, I live with them and even I don't understand all the rituals 'n stuff they do when two people get together. And once they do, good lord, there's even more stuff ta' do. They never stop. Ain't as simple as an invite and mating. Nah, Human's do all sorts o' things."

"But how do you do it?" Harry interrupted, feeling the opportunity might just be ripe. If he was lucky, Grawp would want to tell them how things should be done. Harry was not disappointed.

"Thar's only one way with a good giant's way to mate. She talks t' tha' Gurg and wiff permission she invites 'er intended. Well, thar's so few Females to Males in our world that most Males accept right aways, so Females have thar' choice. If he agrees, it's done. She can' be wiff no one but him and the Gurg. Aftar a year if they is still together which don' happen often, but it does happen, then they get Barnded and then not even the Gurg will touch 'er any mores. They are Barnded fer life."

"Wow," Harry said sounding a lot more impressed than he was. "But how exactly does she invite him?"

"She presents him with her Clan bracelet. If he takes it, he straps it to his arm here," he clapped his wrist, "and then tha' mate."

_Well that's romantic_, Harry thought.

Harry looked across the way and saw Hermione and Ron still talking to Fratilda.

Since it would be a bad idea for Grawp to catch on to what they were doing, which was basically manipulating him to get him and Fratilda together, Harry decided to change the subject to other rituals as he waited for Ron and Hermione to finish with his intended. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.

They were in the middle of talking about food etiquette when Ron and Hermione walked up. Hagrid gave them a nod as he began asking Grawp how he would jerky his meat and the three of them trailed off a few yards away to talk. Harry told them what Grawp had told them and Hermione and Ron both nodded. Hermione gave a relieved kind of smile. Ron and Harry both looked questioningly at her.

"Well, this will be a lot easier than I thought it would be," She exclaimed with a nod.

"How's that?" Ron and Harry asked in unison.

"Because _her _problem is that she's waiting for the Gurg to give her his blessing?"

"The Gurg? Doesn't she understand there's no Gurg here? It's just Grawp," Harry exclaimed waving his hand over at him as he had just sat down so he could speak to Hagrid eye to eye.

"But there's also Hagrid," she smiled broadly.

Harry's eyes went wide. Ron furrowed his brow, but a moment later Ron cried, "OH!" as he worked it out in his head.

Harry and Hermione smiled and nodded back to him. "She thinks Hagrid's the Gurg," they whispered together.

"It makes sense, really," Hermione added. "I mean Hagrid is Grawp's older brother and he does tell him what to do and where to go, and you saw last year how Grawp acted when Hagrid wasn't around. As far as the two of them are concerned, well, he might as well be."

"So how do we fix this?" Ron said, growing suddenly tired of the whole affair.

Harry looked up and noticed it was getting awfully close to dusk. "Yeah, we should hurry this along. I'm not too anxious to walk through the forest at night."

At these words Hermione seemed to have taken a Pepper-up Potion and had called Hagrid over, told him what to do with Fratilda, shooed him on his way to her, and a few moments later it became obvious that Fratilda understood what had happened and stood so quickly Harry could feel the ground tremble beneath them. In her left hand she held out her bracer, a wide leather wristband with a silver plate, her family crest embroidered into it.

By the time they had finished, the had disappeared. Hagrid just shrugged it off.

"Thestrals don't like hangin around too long if they don't need to. They're likely half way back to the paddock by now. We might as well just walk it back. There's still enough time ta' get back 'fore dinner if we hurry."

And so Hagrid led Harry, Ron, and Hermione back through the forest, and for most of the journey it went quietly enough, although Harry had the distinct feeling that someone was watching them, and a few times he could have sworn that he heard, and once even saw, something following alongside them. Then, when they were just reaching the outskirts of the forest, Harry's suspicions were finally confirmed.

There were only about ten minutes of daylight left and the top of the Astronomy Tower was just coming into view when four Centaurs jumped out in front of them, each brandishing their bows and pointing them not at Hagrid, but at Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"Wha's this all abou'?" cried Hagrid angrily.

"We are here to tell you formally, Hagrid, that as of this moment our forest is forbidden to these three. If they enter again without our escort they will be treated as intruders and punished as such."

"Now wait jus' a darn minutes here," Hagrid bellowed back. "These three haven'a done nothing to you or yer kind. What makes you think you can jus' tell'em when they can and canna' come in here?"

Though he was looking around at the entire herd, Harry got the distinct impression that he was only telling this to Bane. Bane also seemed to get this impression as he was the only one who looked ready to attack, and no sooner had Harry thought this than Bane decided to draw back his bow as he aimed it directly at Hagrid's heart. Hagrid, for his part, showed no signs of being afraid.

"You have been warned," said Bane calmly.

Then, before Harry or anyone else could react, Bane dropped his bow and shot an arrow right between Hagrid's feet. Harry thrust his hand in his wand, but before he even had a chance to withdraw it Bane had turned and disappeared into the forest. When he looked around Harry saw that all the other centaurs had disappeared as well leaving both Ron and Hermione clutching each other's hand and looking visibly shaken.

Harry on the other hand was looking quite like Hagrid. He was neither scared or worried about what Bane might do. Bane was nothing compared to Voldemort and he'd faced the Dark Lord several times before.

No, Harry wasn't afraid at all. He was livid.

"WHO THE HELL DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?" he cried as they stepped out from the forest and into Hagrid's back yard. "HOW DARE THEY..."

"SHHH," Hagrid said as he waved his hand down at them. "The trees 'round here got ears o' their own. Don't say nothin till after we're inside."

Harry brooded while they made their way to the hut and was seething by the time Hagrid closed the door behind Ron and Hermione who were no longer holding hands and seemed more embarrassed than anything at their instinctual intimacy.

"Oh would you to just grow up, get a room, and get it over with," Harry cried. Nothing was going to stop him from speaking his mind at that moment. "For crying out loud," he continued, ignoring their feigned looks of offence, "Who do they think they are?"

"They think they're the rightful lords of this land," replied Hagrid simply, "and their not wrong neither. Yeh got to remember, Harry, that this was their land long before wizards showed up. It was Bane's grandfather who was heading the herd when Hogwarts was built and the wizards desecrated the forest."

"Desecrated the forest?" Harry cried indignantly. "They blame us for the forest being the way it is?"

"Course they do. We did it."

"What do you mean we did it," Ron interrupted. "The forest has been like that for centuries."

"Yeah," Hagrid sighed. "Ten centuries to be exact, give or take a few years."

"Hagrid, are you saying that the founding fathers put all those creatures into the forest?" Hermione asked.

"Well, not all o' them, but mostly, yea. But they needed some ways to protect the tomb..." Hagrid stopped dead. "I shouldn'ta said that. I really shouldn'a said that."

"Hagrid," Harry said, trying to keep his voice from betraying the anger that was directing itself at his friend, "What do you know about the tomb."

"I don't know nothin' and anything I do know I ain' saying. Dumbledore tol' me not t' say anything to you three about it and that's how it stays."

"Wait," Harry said abruptly, thoughts swimming in all directions from his head. "Why now? Why after all the times we went in there did they forbid just us three from going in there? It's the Tomb, isn't it. They know something about it, don't they? I'll bet all the galleons in my vault the Tomb is in that forest, isn't it. They found out I was looking for it and they decided I'm not worthy of finding it. That's it, isn't it."

"I don't know nothing about it and that's my final word. If yeh want some tea or ta talk about schoolwork or something else, that's fine. But I ain't saying another word about it and if yeh ask me again I'll boot yeh right outta here."

Harry resigned himself for the moment but tried several more times over the next half hour to weasel a bit more information out of Hagrid until they finally had to make their way back to the castle before they missed supper.

The next day, as Harry climbed the stairs to his classroom for his post-supper lesson with Dumbledore, he tried to remind himself that he could not let Dumbledore change the subject when he asked about the tomb. Unfortunately, right after they greeted each other, Dumbledore started straight in on another subject; one which had been on Harry's mind even more than the Tomb.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "I can see something is troubling you, but before you begin asking questions about Delores Umbridge and Gilderoy Lockhart, let me see if I can explain a few of the more important details. Then, if you there is anything you wish to ask, I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability."

Harry nodded and sat down on one of the student benches while Dumbledore propped up one leg and sat side-saddle on Harry's desk.

"First, I am sure you want to know why it is that I have asked you not to speak out, even at school, about Delores Umbridge announcing her candidacy for Minister of Magic. My reason, I am sad to say, was quite deceitful, but I ask you to listen to my complete reason before passing judgement on me.

Harry nodded, so Dumbledore continued.

"While I have never run for a Ministry job myself, I do have a rather good mind for politics. As such, I have developed a very simple yet fundamentally persuasive campaign which, if you agree to it, should prove quite effective."

"You see, fifteen years ago when Voldemort gave you that scar, the wizarding community in general believed that it had been something you did, or else some extra power you had which allowed you to defeat him. Now, while it is true that you do have a remarkable power over him, very few know what that power is or how you came by it. None the less, after all you have been through and the public notice that Voldemort is back, most of the wizarding world is looking towards you for guidance. For instance, in preparation of this conversation I have had a bag of mail placed in your office. These are letters that I have had diverted to me until we had a chance to talk."

Harry looked over at his office door which was closed, so he waved his wand at it and the door swiftly opened even as he was still uttering '_Alohamora_,' though he hadn't noticed.

Harry was so surprised by the sheer size of the overflowing sack of mail that he hadn't heard Dumbledore as he gave a pleased "hmm" to Harry's spell.

"As you can see, there have been several in the wizarding community who believe that you are destined to bring about the end of Voldemort."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that, sir. The Prophet's been telling everyone that I'm destined to kill Voldemort. I thought the Ministry was going to keep quiet about that."

"Indeed they have. However, as there are so few plausible reasons why you were there, the Ministry has left it simply as no comment. Regrettably, this has left a rather large gap of truth untold, and as you have seen in recent editions of the Daily Prophet, in the absence of truth people will search for their own answers. In our case, the most plausible reason for you, Voldemort, and myself all being in the same place together has only two realistic reasons. Of course, since you are once again the boy who lived, they have decided that you had gone to the Ministry either to destroy Voldemort or to retrieve some form of a weapon you can use against him instead of waiting for him to come after you. Ever since his returned was formally announced in The Daily Prophet, much of the Wizarding World has begun looking at your other encounters with Voldemort in a whole new light."

"So what does this have to do with why I can't say anything about Umbridge?"

"Nothing, and everything," Dumbledore sighed. "You see, had you spoken out against Delores too soon she would have had ample time to recover, or else she would have manipulated the information to her own design. However, there is only so far she can go before she slips up and as I predicted, it happened just a few days ago."

"What did she do?" Harry asked a little too anxiously.

"A reporter with the Quibbler asked her why she had allowed a fifteen year old boy to go to the Ministry alone while she was out talking to the Hogwarts Clan of Centaurs. That, it seems, was her breaking point and she proceeded to list everything she disliked about Hogwarts. This did not win the crowd over. But she was not finish, for she then proceeded to elaborate and took extra care to state that the first thing she would do in office was ridding the school of all non-humans. This might have warmed her to the crowd since many in the wizarding community fear those who are different than themselves."

"Like that isn't the kettle calling the pot black," he said under his breath while shaking his head.

"That is a fair assessment, but that was not nearly her biggest misstep. Would you venture a guess at what it was?"

"She probably started gloating over having you sacked," Harry answered mildly.

"You're on the right track, but it wasn't me she gloated over, it was you."

"Me? She gloated over me? After what happened in the forest? She's mad!"

"She may well be, but it did not affect her decision to speak out about you. No, I think what prompted her to speak out against you was a sudden and quite unintentional burst of anger and fear. Of course the anger comes from your being correct about Voldemort and having escaped from her office at the end of last term. More than that, however, I believe she is afraid, and rightfully so, that once you come out against her she will lose many of her supporters. Ironically, this is one place where she was right to worry and why we had to wait so long before announcing Gilderoy's decision to run for Minister of Magic."

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion but dared not interrupt the headmaster.

"Now if she were to make these kinds of mistakes too early, we might very well have another Ministry official as bad as or worse than Umbridge campaigning for Minister of Magic. Such a person might not only be cunning enough to know to start on the offensive against your vote, but more dangerously, we could end up with someone who was working for Voldemort either by choice or through outside manipulation. After all, as I'm sure you remember, much of the wizarding world in general considered Lucius Malfoy to be a highly respectable wizard until his capture at the Ministry."

Harry knew all too well what the wizarding world had thought about the elder Malfoy and what kind of influence he had held. It was he who was responsible for the unjust verdict that was brought down against Buckbeak just because his son had been stupid enough to insult him. And the year before that he'd actually gotten Dumbledore sacked from Hogwarts, even if it did require a good deal of intimidation and outright threats on his part.

"So instead of opening ourselves to such an unpredictable possibility we allowed Delores some time to build her campaign so that there would be no time for new competition when we announced our candidate. This brings us back to the mistake she made yesterday. Now, with everything you've just heard can you venture a guess as to what she might have done to protect herself from any attacks from you?"

Harry thought long and hard. If there was one subject he knew little about it was politics and since he had his Art of Duelling for the first half of the day, one of the classes he did not have was Magical Law and Politics. Still, something about the question seemed obvious and after a moment he took a guess.

"Well, she can't say I'm a liar because she accused me of lying about Voldemort and now everyone knows he's back, so her credibility on that is out the window, so the only other thing she can do is say that I've got something against her for being so tough on me as a Professor."

"Good, good. Keep going," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"So she's going to say that I don't like her because she had authority over me and I don't like having authority figures. She'll say I'm a loose cannon who gets lucky sometimes but isn't worth the risk."

"And?"

"And with my record for breaking rules she'll say that I'm only going off on her because she tried to do her job and punish me for my rule-breaking."

"Good. But how could this have led to her making a mistake?" Dumbledore continued.

"Well, she could have..." Harry thought, but he couldn't put it together. After a few moments he shook his head and Dumbledore nodded.

"Think about it from this perspective. What do she and our candidate have in common, and then ask what she could have said that would seem completely valid until Gilderoy announces his candidacy.

The thought hit him just as he was saying Lockhart's name, though it was actually looking into Dumbledore's eyes that inspired his answer.

"She said it wasn't just her, it was all professors. She made it out like even McGonagall got frustrated with me and brought up the Quidditch match from last year and the _illegal _D.A. Club. She made it out like nobody other than you could control me and even then it was only part of the time. She's trying to say that I'm going to speak out against her because she was my professor and I'm holding a grudge against her for it."

"And what happens when Gilderoy Lockhart announces he will be running against her for Minister of Magic?"

"Well, since he was my second year Defence against the Dark Arts Professor, her argument that I hate all my professors goes out the window. And when I say that I like having Hagrid and Firenze at Hogwarts, they're going to wonder why she seems to be going out of her way to bash me when everyone knows I'm going to bring about the end of Voldemort."

"I think you have a better grasp of politics than you give yourself credit for. And as of yesterday she made just such an announcement, so it will be in tomorrow evening's edition of the Daily Prophet that Gilderoy is running for Minister and that you will have been the person to nominate him. And, with your consent, I would like you to accompany myself and Professor David to the Ministry where a press conference will be held Thursday morning where Gilderoy will officially announce his candidacy and answer any questions the press might have."

"However, before you agree, I must warn you that the press will be quite stubborn in asking questions that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. In this case, it is quite likely they will beg for you to take the podium. I dare say it will be hard to remove Gilderoy from the podium, but he does like to play to the crowd and he will likely allow you to answer a few questions. I won't say I'm adverse to this idea because I am not. It would be best for Gilderoy's champagne if you voiced your support at this conference, but I will not pressure you to do so, especially since the reporters are not likely to stay on topic for long."

"You think they'll start asking about my Mum and Dad's murder and about the times I've come up against Voldemort."

"That is very likely, yes."

"Can Ron and Hermione come with me?"

"I think a little support may be in order, but I must restrict it to just the three of you," he added with a knowing look.

"Yes sir. Well, if it helps to keep Umbridge out of office, I'll do it."

"Wonderful. And Harry?"

"Yes sir?"

"Since you have proven yourself an able professor and wizard and considering your destiny, I think it might be a bit more appropriate if you were to call me Albus. Mind you this would only be during our private lessons or while we are in my office, but I do not think it necessary for you to continue to call me sir in private."

Harry didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. It had been a pretty odd feeling being treated like an adult over the past few months, between his Duelling Classes and the Staff Meetings, but the idea of addressing Professor Dumbledore by Albus was all but overwhelming.

"One last thing. I might recommend you to think about preparing a small speech before the conference. I've found in my past experiences with the press that it's much easier to control them if you direct them from the start, and it makes it easier to pick and choose the questions you wish to answer without the press singling out a single subject you didn't want to speak of if you did brush over it in that opening speech.

"So if I want to avoid talking about Voldemort Killing my parents, I should say whatever I am willing to say up front."

"Precisely. As the media would say, all they want is their sound bite. If they get it, even if it's not all they want, they'll only dig into things you say nothing about. Tell them you wish you could have known your parents but that you've come to terms with the loss, they may want to ask more, but they'll take what they can get. If you say nothing, they'll become relentless when you refuse to answer their questions."

"I think I'll have Hermione help me with this speech."

"That might be a good idea," Dumbledore replied with a smile.

And with that, they wrapped up their conversation about the following days festivities and continued on with the lesson which, as it turned out, was another round of shoot the balloon. He had already worked his way up to a regular score of seven balloons and had once gotten sixteen before finally missing.

As soon as they finished up, just before eleven, Harry rushed up to Gryffindor tower as fast as his exhausted body would take him.

Once he was finished telling Ron and Hermione about Lockhart's interview at the Ministry they couldn't wait to volunteer to go with him. Again he thought about how incredibly lucky he was to have friends like Ron and Hermione.

They all went to bed after one last game of speed chess. Ron had won as usual, but Harry had reduced him to only five pieces before Ron trapped him with a sacrifice of his queen. Harry, who couldn't believe his fortune, took the queen without a second thought, but a moment later Ron's knight took his rook and opened a straight line to Harry's king. Checkmate.

"You've got to start looking at least five moves ahead. There were at least four different times when you could'a had me but you weren't watching your moves far enough in advance. Look at Dumbledore. It sounds to me like that's exactly what he did with Umbridge."

"Yeah," Harry sighed as he pulled off his shirt and readied himself for bed.

After he changed, lying in bed for a few minutes, he looked to the roof of his bed and asked offhandedly, "You weren't just talking about chess back then, were you?"

Ron didn't reply at first.

Finally, after several moments passed he finally said "No" and said no more about it.

Harry continued to wait for Ron to respond, but he never did. A few moments later he heard Ron's soft snoring growing louder from and decided to let him sleep.

The next day was much too hectic for Harry to continue his talk with Ron regarding looking towards the future. But then, when he really thought about it, his head swam with all the thoughts about what his future might hold even over the next six months then.

Harry was able to spend an hour with Amanda before class, then he, Ron and Hermione all headed down to eat an early lunch before going to the Ministry.

Harry wasn't especially excited about going back to the Ministry, both because it had been the last place he'd seen Voldemort and also because it would mean he'd be in the same building where Sirius had died.

Harry told Amanda about feeling nervous and she for her part let him ramble off while she affectionately brushed his hair through her fingers. "Don't worry about it," she cooed in his ear. "Things always have a way of figuring themselves out. Besides, I mailed my parents about whether you could come out and staying with us for a couple of years after school. They said that if you wanted to, they'd love to have you."

Harry smiled but didn't respond. He really hadn't thought about moving in with her because when the thought about it, deep down, he could never run. Not when his own Mum and Dad stood their ground against Voldemort. They could have run, but they stayed and fought, and he would do the same.

There was no turning back, but he couldn't say this to her, at least at that point in time. He knew he had feelings for her, feelings he'd never had with another girl, not even Cho, and he didn't want to end what they had. He still kept hope that things would work out.

Harry changed the subject by mentioning what he was in store for him when he went to the Ministry. She continued to listen as he poured out his deepest fears about how they would react and what kinds of questions they would ask him. She'd only say "Mmm hmm" or "I'm sure you'll do fine", but just hearing her speak had a calming effect on him and by the time he went down to dinner with her he'd left all his worries back in his office.

When they arrived in the Great Hall they found it empty but with the side room door ajar. He gave Amanda another quick kiss which somehow lasted several minutes until a first year walked by and whistled at them, then gave her a quick peck, squeezed her hand, and headed off to the side room.

Inside he found Ron and Hermione already half done with their dinner while Dumbledore was switching between bites of some chicken casserole and talking to Professor McGonagall. As he sat down Dumbledore welcomed him with a very large smile.

"Ah, Harry. I was just about to send one of the ghosts out to find you," he said with a grin. "Well, you must hurry and eat something. We should be leaving in about..." He looked down at the same strange watch Harry'd seen him look at many times before which, as far as Harry could tell, had no way of telling time whatsoever, but it still worked for Dumbledore as he said, "Twelve more minutes. And as we don't want any uninvited eyes watching us leave at the same time well will be departing from this room. I have already turned the candlestick here into our portkey."

Harry nodded and dove into his plate, though he hadn't had any real appetite. However, his experience from Quidditch told him that even though his nerves told him he was not hungry, his body still needed the food so he pulled a pair of chicken breasts and a baked potato and started force-feeding himself until he could actually feel his body react to the food. Before he knew it he was gorging on the chicken and ate the entire potato in five bites.

He cleared his plate with three minutes to spare just as Professor McGonagall had left through the open door, locking it after she left and leaving the four of them sitting in silence.

"Well, as we still have a few minutes before we take our leave I would like to fill you in on a few last minute facts regarding our little trip. First and most important is that you should know that nobody is aware that you will be accompanying me to the Ministry. The only exceptions are Remus Lupin and Professor David who have accompanied Gilderoy and are waiting for us to arrive, as well as Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who has increased security since the recent attack on the Ministry."

"Now, we are doing this for the political reasons I told you of earlier as well as due to safety measures. Even with the increased security measures at the Ministry we cannot take any chances which might allow Voldemort to set a trap for you. Of course it's very unlikely he would try anything again so soon after the last attack, especially when he has little idea what will take place there until it's much too late, but I would rather err on the side of caution."

"And one last thing before we leave. I think you should all be aware that while Gilderoy's condition is remarkably better than he was just six months ago, he is not quite as well as publicised. We feel it necessary to give off the impression that he has completely recovered. However, one of the few things that seems completely blocked from his memory is the day he went down into the chamber with you two. The doctors at St. Mungo's are of the opinion at this point that this is not due to the charm he cast, but was instead a simple matter of his subconscious trying to deny what he'd done. It is likely that sooner or later he will remember, but until then we have decided that it best to confirm that he went down with you but was incapacitated during the accident that caused the cave-in. I do apologise for putting you in this position but I only just yesterday discovered that this part of his memory had not been recovered."

Harry and Ron both smiled and nodded.

"Thank you. It means a great deal to me how well you three are handling everything that has happened over the past year. You are truly three of the most incredible young wizards and witches of your age, and it is truly an honour to be your headmaster."

All three of them blushed as Dumbledore smiled and picked up the candlestick, walked over to the fireplace and waited for Harry, Ron and Hermione to join him.

"Well, we have just a few more moments before we leave so everyone get hold of a branch."

They each took a branch and waited.

"Three..." Dumbledore counted down, "Two... One..."

Harry once again felt the familiar hook pulling behind his navel as the floor flew out from under his feet and then, the room was gone.

Coming Soon

Chapter 30


	30. Chapter 30 Quills and Wands

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 30

Quills and Wands

As he flew through the magical abyss towards the Ministry of magic, Harry couldn't help but feel like an egg being sucked through the neck of a Butterbeer bottle like he'd seen in his Muggle Science class before he'd found out he was a Wizard. When the ground finally stopped beneath him he breathed a sigh of relief and found he'd actually pulled it off without falling down, though he still felt a bit off balance at first.

They had arrived in a small room, windowless, with nothing but a small group of wizards off to one side talking animatedly and a long table off on the opposite side.

The talking stopped abruptly as Dumbledore cleared his throat. The group as a whole turned to look at Dumbledore and his band of students. Lockhart suddenly burst through the group and took Dumbledore excitedly by the hand, shaking it vigorously.

"Albus Dumbledore," he called with a broad smile. "Great to see you. Great to see you. And Harry Potter! How have you been, lad?"

This was definitely the Professor Lockhart Harry remembered from his second year, though he thought it odd he'd remembered Harry without flinching, but then he remembered what Dumbledore had said about his memory. It seemed he had completely forgotten what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets because Ron had also received an extremely warm welcome.

"Ron Weasley! Great to see you too. And of course, where would Harry and Ron be without the lovely and ever so clever Hermione Granger," he said as he kissed her hand. Hermione blushed in spite of herself.

"Thought you were over him," Ron whispered under his breath. Hermione answered with an elbow to his ribs while Harry got a second dose of handshakes.

Professor David came up next to Lockhart and pulled his hand out of Harry's while placing his other hand on Lockhart's shoulder.

"Now, now Gilderoy, what have we discussed about being overly aggressive?

"Oh, yes, of course. Quite sorry about that. It's just been so long since I've seen so many familiar faces, and of course it's always nice to see the great Harry Potter. You've grown into quite a wizard since I last saw you. Heard you won the Tri-Wizard Tournament. No doubt some of my teachings helped you there, eh Potter?"

Harry smiled softly and nodded. He wasn't ready to talk to someone like Lockhart about something like the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and it seemed Lockhart read this in his face as he quickly changed the subject.

"Right! Well, isn't it just about time to get out there?"

"Indeed," intoned Dumbledore. "Everyone knows what they're to do?"

"Why don't I go over it once more, just to be safe," said Amelia Bones in a polite but stern voice. "Gilderoy, you will follow David and myself out first, followed by Mr. Kettleburn, Mr. Turner, and Miss Stealthborn. Next, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger will follow Albus, with Mrs Armstrong pulling up the rear. Any Questions?"

Everyone shook their heads, and as though on cue the door opened and a head popped inside looking remarkably like Percy with blond hair and bifocals similar to Dumbledore's instead of Percy's standard issue glasses. "They're ready when you are," the young man said in a surprisingly deep voice.

"Thank you, Ignatius," Amelia said pleasantly. "We're on our way."

The door closed and Harry saw David put something small into Lockhart's hand. Lockhart quickly popped it into his mouth and swung his head back as he swallowed whatever David had given him and whatever effect it was to have, it seemed to kick in quite quickly. Suddenly Lockhart got a much more serious look on his face. He was still smiling but it seemed a more determined smile, somewhat like Dumbledore's look as he announced the Tri-Wizard Tournament restrictions. Serious, but still with a general happiness.

Whatever Harry though about Lockhart, he was sure that at the very least this was where he was meant to be.

When the doors opened, Harry followed Dumbledore out on cue and prepared readied himself for whatever might come.

He had not prepared enough.

When they came outside the door Harry found himself in a white hallway which abruptly ended to the left into the Entrance Hall of the Ministry, though most of it was concealed behind a large deck about three feet high with large drapes separating them from the rest of the Entrance hall.

And still with such a large wall between him and the crowd awaiting the press conference, Harry could already tell there were dozens and dozens of people on the other side just from the whispers, maybe as many as two hundred.

But when Lockhart stepped through the curtain to the stage, Harry knew his earlier guess could not have been even close to the actual size of the audience. The resonating applause as Lockhart stepped out seemed to shake the walls to the very foundation of the Ministry and Harry nearly flinched when Hermione grabbed tightly to his right arm, her left clutching to Ron.

An instant later he was walking up the steps behind Dumbledore who turned to give the three of them a reassuring nod before he too stepped through the curtain and another round of applause coursed through the room and Harry though he might just go deaf from the echoing cheers.

Later he'd blame his lack of noticing on nerves when Hermione and Ron would tell him that as he walked through the curtain the crowd had applauded louder even than when Dumbledore had come out. But in truth Harry hadn't noticed for an entirely different reason. He had completely frozen up.

The Entrance Hall of the Ministry looked nearly twice the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and still Harry could not find a single empty standing space in the room. It seemed everyone who could show up had done so, at least a thousand wizards and witches in all, and Harry's jaw seemed unable to work.

After an undetermined amount of time the crowd died down and some people came and went from the podium set in the middle of the stage. Who they were and what they said Harry did not know. It wasn't until Hermione gave an extra tight squeeze on his arm that he began to snap out of it.

"Harry," Hermione whispered urgently.

"Huh?" Harry replied blankly.

"God, Harry. Don't scare me like that. Are you alright?"

"Uh, sure," he lied. "I'm Fine."

"Well perk up then. Lockhart's about to take the podium."

And so he did, and the butterflies in Harry's stomach increased a thousand fold. It was now only a matter of time until Umbridge was brought up. From there, questions would quickly move to Harry and Lockhart would have to give the podium over to Harry. Then he'd have to get up there and answer a hundred questions about everything he never wanted to talk about.

He quickly went over the important questions, the ones he would be willing to answer, and the ones that he would have to expound on the truth with. He wasn't willing to admit he was lying, though that would be exactly what he would do should certain questions come up. He continued asking himself questions and quickly answering them in his head as he vaguely listened to Lockhart talking at the podium, and much too early for Harry's liking he heard the magic words he'd dreaded.

"I see Harry Potter up there with you, Mr. Lockhart. Does that mean he's supporting your candidacy for Minister of Magic? We got the impression from your opponent that Mr. Potter had a great deal of trouble with any professors at Hogwarts, with the exception of Dumbledore."

"Very good question," Lockhart said with a huge smile. "But instead of answering that myself, why don't I let Harry answer for himself."

Everyone drew suddenly quiet as their heads shifted towards Harry, but before he took his first step forward he felt Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder, holding him back as he took the podium, all smiles and glittering eyes.

"My fellow Wizards and Witches. Before young Harry comes up here, which he will do shortly, I just need to ask you one small favour. Harry _is _here to support Lockhart as he will tell you himself in a moment, but before he does I need to ask that you please refrain from moving off topic and asking Harry questions that do not pertain either to his personal experience with his ex-professor or his esteemed Opponent. Any questions regarding the Tri-Wizard Tournament or the events of this past spring would be best kept for a later time. And now, with no further adieu, Harry Potter."

Harry gathered one final breath and stepped towards the Podium. It was an odd sense of power standing behind that podium, almost as though he'd been given a sudden Pepper-up potion, and Harry was surprised by how quickly he'd found his voice.

"Thank you, Professor. Well, I'm sure you all have several questions for me," he said, trying to sound as professional as possible, "but before I get to your questions I would like to address a few things that Miss Umbridge has said relating directly to me. It is true that I have had some difficulty with certain Professors in the past, but if you were to ask anyone who knew me before last year, they would all undoubtedly say that Professor Severus Snape and I had shown the greatest disliking for each other than with any other professor I've known. Yet this year Professor Snape and myself have been working quite well together teaching our Art of Duelling class with great success. In fact, as some of you may know, immediately following this conference I am to return to Hogwarts to go over the final list of participants in our duelling tournament, the first event of which will take place over the next two weekends. So it should be obvious by this alone that even when there has been animosity between myself and a Hogwarts Professor, I have done my best to overcome those obstacles to get along with my Professors."

"However, in the case of Professor Umbridge, I think it has become obvious as of late that she was wrong in many of her decisions. For instance, she had admitted to myself and several other students that it was she who had sent the two Dementors after me during the Summer Holiday of two years ago."

Many of the witches and wizards began frantically writing down this titbit of information and whispering animatedly to each other. Harry continued as though nothing had happened.

"Of course, I am sure that Miss Umbridge will say that the word of a sixteen year old boy and his friends are nothing compared to the word of a Ministry Official like herself, just as she did when I gave that interview in the Quibbler last year announcing the return of Lord Voldemort."

Gasps went out throughout the room as Harry said the name, and that did make him pause, but only to smile.

"Yes, that's right. I say his name now and out loud. Lord Voldemort is nothing but a cold blooded killer, and anyone who fears his name needs to re-evaluate their priorities. Few have lost as much as I have at the hands of Lord Voldemort, but Professor Dumbledore, twice the wizard Voldemort is, has no fear in saying his name, nor do you have any fear in saying Dumbledore's name. Honestly, do you think that saying "_You-Know-Who_" is any better or worse than saying his name? Voldemort is a coward and I've said it to his face, and I'll say it again when I smite him into the ground."

The room had fallen dead quite. The only thing that could be heard is the echo of Harry's voice, and it was then that he realised he'd been shouting. Recomposing himself a moment later, he straightened his robe and continued.

"Voldemort is a coward, and it is under that same cowardice that Professor Umbridge sent those Dementors after me. It was not because she was working for him or had any evil plans towards me, but simply because fear of even the possibility of his return made her do thing which no good Wizard or Witch would ever consider, and that included threatening to use an Unforgivable Curse on me. It was only through the quick thinking of one of my two best friends, a Muggle-born witch named Hermione Granger, who thought of a way to help me escape from having the Cruciatus Curse place on me by Miss Umbridge."

"But this is just one of the many things she had done to prove herself unworthy for any place of power. She herself taught Defence Against the Dark Arts last year and told her fifth year students, including myself, that if we studied our book hard enough there would be no need for us to have any practical experience in casting any spells. She was to have the fifth years take their O.W.L.s without ever having cast a single fifth grade spell."

More whispering crossed the room, but Harry didn't stop for them but continued forward.

"It was only through convincing by Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger that I began holding a Duelling Club last year. More than fifty students participated in the club even after Miss Umbridge had outlawed all group activities and clubs not authorised by her. This was but another attempt by her to hinder the students from learning how to defend themselves properly against the Dark Arts. Of course she felt it was for the better good, keeping us from learning to defend ourselves would also hinder any student's pursuit in the Dark Arts, and I believe she also felt threatened by the idea of Professor Dumbledore raising an army against the Ministry. Of course this was ridiculous and is one of the primary reasons I continued to hold the Duelling Club Meetings."

"Now she expects to run under the guise of being Fudge's right hand in the Ministry and wants to take over where he left off. Now I don't wish to speak ill of Mr. Fudge. I do feel he did many things in the best interests of the Wizarding Community, but Fudge was a man who spoke loud but acted only defensively. Voldemort is not going to be defeated this way. That is why I stepped forward and suggested to Professor Dumbledore that it might be a good idea to nominate Lockhart."

"Gilderoy Lockhart is a brilliant man as any witch or wizard who reads must know, and the many things he's accomplished in his life proves him to be a man of action and not one who would just keep a defensive wall and hope the enemy gives up. Voldemort will never give up and we need a Minister who feels the same.

"We need a man who knows how to fight the Dark Arts, and as a previous Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor I think he more than Qualifies. We need a man who can give the weak hope that they too can overcome even the greatest of odds and stand for what is right. Who better than a man who overcame one of the most extreme Memory Charms and stands before you as good as new, if not better. Gilderoy Lockhart has overcome all the odds and stands before you one of the most beloved, courageous, and experienced Wizards the world over. As a student of his, a friend, and as a young man who has faced Voldemort more often than any other Witch or Wizard present, I can honestly say that there is no man I would rather have in office than Gilderoy Lockhart. Thank you."

Applause swept through the crowd, shaking the walls and making the wooden stand on which Harry stood vibrate beneath his feet. Harry had to smile at himself for a moment, soaking up the applause and feeling quite proud of himself for having performed so well. But then a though burst to the front of his brain, shaking him hard and reminding him that the speech was the easy part. Now came the hard part, answering their questions.

As the cheers died down he took a deep breath, held it for a second, and over the dying crowd saying quite loudly in mid-exhale, "And now I'll answer a few questions, but please keep them restricted to the candidacy for Minister of Magic."

And all at once, a thousand voices rang out, none having paid attention to Harry's last request as they began shouting every question imaginable.

The Questions portion of the Press conference was due to last only a few minutes, but with Lockhart's help, along with Dumbledore, Ron, and Hermione jumping in from time to time, Harry answered questions for the better part of half an hour. Any questions related to Harry's personal life and especially those that involved him and Voldemort were initially deflected and were later ignored all together. By the time the conference ended a hour after Harry stepped back from the podium, Harry felt that Umbridge would have about a broom's chance in hell of becoming the next Minister of Magic.

After they got back into their private room Dumbledore quickly congratulated Harry on his performance, especially during the speech.

"I asked more of you today than I should have to ask of any student and you did far better than I could have possibly hoped for. I cannot remember anyone I have met before who could handle themselves as well as you did today and I am extremely proud of you."

"It was all in a days work," Harry said with a sly smile. "Honestly, after the first few moments I just pretended they were a bunch of students in my class and treated them that way."

"So acting as a Deputy Professor has taught you as much as you have taught others," Dumbledore said with a mischievous grin of his own.

"It that why you agreed to make me a professor? To show me how to work a crowd?"

"There are many reasons I appointed you as a Deputy Professor for the Duelling Club, and yes, this was one of them. It takes a great amount of practice and patience to deal with the press, and after you become of age there will be many who will seek you out then in hopes of salvation or to interview you in the attempt to try and sell your story. I felt a bit of familiarity with such incidents would help you prepare for those longer days still ahead."

Harry nodded solemnly. It had been a rush when it happened, but now he just felt drained. Going through that on a regular basis would be hell, and before Voldemort was finished off Harry suspected he'd have many more days just like this one.

"Well, if practice makes perfect, I'll probably get pretty darn good at that before I'm out of school."

"Well, I don't think it will be necessary to force too many more of these on you, but after you come of age there will be many of those who will seek you out, and after you leave your Aunt and Uncle's place on Privet Drive you will be on your own. You will be free to come and go as you please, and while I trust your ability to protect yourself, not all attacks against you will be from Death Eaters. Some will simply try to manipulate you, be they members of the press or Members of the Ministry of Magic. That is one of the primary reasons for your participation here today, to prepare you for what is to come."

Harry smiled out of reflex, but as he listened and nodded he was gotten a sudden and completely unexpected feeling from Dumbledore. It was one he'd felt many times before but until then had been defined. But as he looked up into Dumbledore's eyes a sudden warmth overtook him, much like the feeling he'd gotten from Mrs. Weasley on several different occasions. It was a feeling he'd yearned for and never received as a child. It was the unspoken declaration of love and respect that a parent would give off when speaking to a son or daughter. Seeing it in Dumbledore's eyes nearly brought Harry to tears.

The urge to jump forward and wrap his arms around Dumbledore was overwhelming, but Harry controlled himself just short of spreading his arms and smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling in attempt to keep the floodgates from bursting open.

As usual, Dumbledore seemed to sense what Harry was thinking, but instead of saying anything he simply placed a warm hand on Harry's shoulder, gripping it in that fatherly manner, and nodded his head once, a smile playing across his face.

"Come now. We have had much too much seriousness for one day and I dare say I'm quite looking forward to a relaxing game of Exploding Snaps."

Harry smiled, waved Ron and Hermione over, and a few moments later they were heading back to school and readying themselves for an evening of homework.

After a couple games of Exploding Snaps in Dumbledore's office, Ron, Hermione and Harry went up to the duelling class where they found Neville sitting next to Dudley and Luna who were already working on their Potions homework while Dudley was working over a bubbling cauldron.

Harry noted that, in recent weeks, the three of them were rarely found without the other two, Dudley and Luna usually hand in hand.

They all worked together on their Potions homework. Finally, when the clock struck ten O'clock, and they made their way back to their respective common rooms.

Quite sooner than he had expected that morning, Harry again found himself lying in his bed, waiting for some soft dreaming to take him from all his mortal worries and off into the sweet abyss of fantasy. Of course, when most of your fantasies come true when you've learned that you're a real life wizard, your dreams turn out to be much more like real life than you might like. But Harry found that any escape from the real world was fine with him, so he still closed his eyes and happily awaited sleep to take hold of him. After all, the next day would bring about another hectic set of trails organised by Charlie which would determine the finalists for the opening Duelling Competition.

Tomorrow was bound to be a very long day.

He'd received the final tally for the Tournament from Charlie immediately following his afternoon DADA class.

Harry found that Charlie had also written up a few suggestions as to how Harry could schedule the Tournament so that one of the competitions could be completed before the Christmas Holiday and have the other two competitions take place when the students got back to school.

Harry felt the fairest choice for the students, as well as the easiest to conform to the new time schedule, was to have the team competition before Christmas and the individual and individuals versus teams competitions afterwards.

And so on the Thursday morning preceding the last week of school before the Winter Holiday, as the students gathered at the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry took his seat at the staff table and, after all the students had calmed down, Dumbledore gave Harry the floor and Harry read off the list of qualifying duellists.

There were cheers for each student from their houses as their names were called and Harry was relieved to find that both Ron and Hermione were listed, as well as Fred and George. When Harry had read their names he looked up at the Gryffindor table to see the entire table cheering but as he scanned the table he couldn't seem to find the twins anywhere. He tried to remember when the last time he'd seen them outside of his classroom and realised he hadn't seen much of them at all through the year.

A not too subtle cough from McGonagall reminded him of his place and he continued to call of the names while tapping his watch with his hand to remind him to find out where the twins had been recently.

He finished announcing the names and then gave a brief overview of the Tournament's rules and scheduled times for the team competition, followed by another breakdown for the other two competitions to be held after the break. When he finished the entire Hall erupted in cheers, even at the Slytherin table, and as Harry sat back down he realised how relaxed he had been speaking to the entire school. But then again, after the press conference at the Ministry, talking to the students was a piece of cake.

When the crowd died down, Dumbledore once again took the podium and announced that he had one last surprise in store for the School.

"As Professor Potter, Professor Weasley, and Professor Snape have gone through so much trouble arranging this tournament, I felt it only appropriate that we provide a way prize to the winners. Therefore, it is my great pleasure to present to you, the Duelling Tournament Trophies."

With a wave of the hand, three trophies appeared on a table just in front of the podium. Two of them fairly similar in shape, each roughly a foot and a half tall and looking like a pair of oversized snow-globes, one with a pair of opposing duelling teams fighting each other, the other one with a sole duellist fighting off four opponents.

The third trophy was more classic in design than the other two and, in Harry's opinion, much nicer. Standing on a wooden platform with the standard gold plated nameplate stood a proud duellist, robes billowing in the air. For a few moments it simply stood there, standing proud, until it seemed suddenly alarmed, dodged an unseen spell, jumped into a forward roll, then turned sharply to the right and threw out a spell of it's own. It continued to dance around like this for twenty seconds, moving as though stuck in mid-air while simultaneously duelling some unknown foes, only to set itself straight up, standing proudly once more.

The students cheered once again and Harry could see Ron's eyes gleaming off the trophy, a hungry expression playing over his face.

At that moment Harry made a promise to himself. It was a selfish promise and one he knew he shouldn't have considered, not only because he was promoting the Tournament, but also because he'd taught most of the students how to duel. But looking at Ron just then reminded him of a young Ron, looking into the Mirror of Erised and seeing himself as Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, and the most revered of the Weasley boys. Harry hated to admit it, but Ron wasn't likely to make Head Boy, and though he was working as the temporary Team Captain, Harry would have to take back the reins before the end of the year or lose his team. In that, Ron would end up leaving school without making any of those dreams come true. But Harry could give him this.

First he decided that the individual competitions would be held off till last. That would give everyone the most experience before the individual battles, and it would also give him enough time to implement his second plan.

Directly after lunch Harry would walk Charlie to his office and convince him to help Ron with his Duelling. He'd tell him all about his duels with Dumbledore and have Charlie run him through some of the same techniques.

"_It wouldn't be cheating, exactly_," he told himself. "_I'll just be talking to Charlie about my duels with Dumbledore and I'd also suggest to him that Ron might need some help practising his Duelling techniques. I'll be showing everyone what to do during our last week of duelling so I won't be favouring Ron, and if Charlie decides to give Ron some extra one on one time practising, that's just one brother helping out another._"

It wasn't a very convincing argument, all things considered, but Harry didn't need much convincing. He was going to do whatever he could to turn Ron into the best duellist at the school. After everything Ron had given him over the years, it was the least he could do.

"That's cheating," Hermione said as she walked down the hall to meet Ron.

"But it's not fair either. If I wasn't officiating the bloody Tournament nobody would have a thing to say about it. I'm just trying to prepare my best mate for a tournament. He's done the same for me before he ever got on the Quidditch team. How is this any different?"

"Because this time you're the one who's taught most of the participants how to duel. You know what everyone's weaknesses are and how Ron can exploit them."

"Oh come off it, Hermione. In the first place I'd never outright tell him how to duel each of his opponents, and even if I did, he's seen everyone duel dozens of times. I wouldn't be telling him anything he couldn't figure for himself."

"It's not that simple and you know it. If it were, you wouldn't have to ask me if it were right or not."

"Well then how the bloody hell am I supposed to help him. He's my best mate and there's no way I'm going to stand by while he gets his butt handed to him in that tournament."

"Well, if you must know, I've been a bit worried about that myself. But I'm not about to cheat in order to help him."

"But all I want to do is make sure he's properly trained up. It's not like I'm going to tell him any of the special spells Dumbledore taught me or anything."

"Of course you wouldn't. Not when Dumbledore's going to be right there in front of you watching."

"Hey. That's not the…"

"I'm not saying it is, but you're walking a fine line right now and talking about jumping well over it. Look. Why don't you tell me what you wanted to do with him that would make such a big difference and maybe it can help me figure out how we can help him together."

"Well, alright then. Ron's biggest problem with duelling is that he can plan things out well enough, but he doesn't do well with the unexpected. That's why he worries me so much. Most of the Slytherin's know spells that will catch him off guard and make him panic, and the moment he starts panicking he just loses it. The only time he seems to keep his cool is when he's so angry he can't think of anything but duelling, but I'm not about to start slapping him in the face before each match."

"Okay, what else?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he needs to move around a bit more. He tends to stand still until he's ready to strike, always waiting for his opponent to strike first. He needs to be more aggressive and take the offensive more often. And he needs to learn how to keep his head straight when he does get hit with some of the more powerful spells. And he needs to be quicker on his feet. Even when he does dodge a spell, if he doesn't know ahead of time that it's coming he doesn't seem to dodge it until the last second. Lots of duellists will catch on to that real quick."

"Right. Anything else?"

"No, that's about it, but that quite a lot really. That's almost half of the talents needed to be a good duellist."

"That sounds about right to me. So let me ask you this? Aside from telling him what's generally wrong with his duelling technique, what else would you do when you helped him."

"I'd be there to help him focus on getting better."

"So you'd be his surrogate opponent, and you'd tell him what he needs to work on, in general. Anything else?"

"Well, no. Not really."

"Good. Then you don't have to do anything."

"Excuse me? What have we just been talking about here? I told you I'm going to help him out and that's what I'm going to do."

"No you're not. All you're going to do is suggest to each of your classes next week that they might want to talk to their family and friends during the Christmas Holiday and ask them for some help. After they get back, well, we'll go over that later. I've got to write this all down before I forget it. But when you get a chance, tell Ron that he should meet with Charlie some time this weekend. I'll take care of everything else."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to give Charlie a basic outline of what you just said so when Ron goes to Charlie for help, Charlie will have an idea of what Ron needs to work on. He'll see it anyway when they duel, but this way he gets a little head start. Frankly I think it's still walking a fine line, but it's a lot better having his brother who's no longer got a thing to do with the tournament than the person who's officiating it. Trust me. I'll go over the rest of the idea with you later. Now I've go to run. I'll meet up with you guys in a bit."

Harry didn't reply, but just stood there shaking his head. He had to admit that he did feel a bit guilty giving Ron the extra help, and maybe it would be better if Charlie helped. After all, Charlie was good enough to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and before that he had dealt with Dragons, but he still didn't like the idea of letting someone else help Ron. He wanted to be darned sure Ron would win. But he had to be fair, and Hermione did seem to have a good plan.

Harry just hoped it would work.

Coming Soon

Chapter 31

The Duelling Tournament


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